A Surprise Visit To Atlantis
by GeekRican
Summary: She couldnt' stop thinking of him...He couldn't stop thinking of her...Would her being on Atlantis now change things?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1  
ATLANTIS. NIGHT TIME.** The days had begun to mesh together. At times Carter lost track of time. And this happened to be one of the days. She sat in her office with a pile of paperwork, staring back at her. She realized she had mulled over the same report for the last half hour. Realizing the lack of sleep was not helping any, she decided to go to her quarters. She got up, and as she turned, her eye caught a picture that was resting on the desk behind her. It was of the then Colonel, now General Jack O'Neill. She lifted the picture to her, and sighed deeply.

It had been several months that she had agree to take the position at Atlantis, but she didn't realize how hard it would be without her team, her SG1 team, and mostly her CO. With one finger she traced his face on the picture.

"Oh, how I miss you".

"You OK. Colonel?" Without realizing it, Sam had said that statement out loud. John Sheppard had just passed her office as he heard it.

"John!" she was so focused on the picture, he actually startled her.

"hey, yea I'm fine" she tried to cover her emotions, but not only did she verbalize her sentiments, the tears rolling down her face truly spoke the volume of what she was feeling.

She immediately put the picture down, wiped her tears away and tried to look "fine".

John knew that something had been wrong for weeks. Where she had slowly become part of the team, at Altantis, for the past several weeks, you would find her secluded in her office, or quarters only coming out when duties needed to be handled, or if she was needed for some political matter.

Before letting her walk out of her office, John grabbed her arm…..

"Hey, you sure you're o.k?" he asked with a concerned tone to his voice. She knew he meant well but it wasn't something she wanted, then again, something she could talk about. She was still under the General's command (the President had decided that Atlantis, would benefit from O'Neill's Stargate knowledge), and regulations unfortunately still had not changed.

She gave him one of her smiles, "I've fine John, really. I'm just tired, that's all" she tried to convince him, but he wasn't a stupid man. He knew if she didn't want to talk about it he couldn't force her.

"Well, just know if you need to chat, I'm always here" John replied. He knew she had to have been having a hard time. Being with a team for so long, especially SG-1, wasn't something you can move on from overnight. He knew she needed time.

"OK….well gets some rest then" He said to her. He smiled, knowing she would get through this; she after all was Samantha Carter.

She smiled back at him.

"Thanks, John" she knew he meant well. All she wanted to do at this point was crawl into her bed, and let her dreams take over her.

She entered her quarters. She slowly came out of her uniform, and slipped into bed. Although she was physically tired, the mental and emotional state she was in, was not allowing her to sleep.

"Get a hold of yourself, Carter" she said to herself.

"Maybe a hot bath will help", she thought.

She made her way to her bathroom. Being Colonel had its perks. She had a full bathroom, along with a large tub, she could disappear in. She started to run the water. She grabbed her shampoo and dropped a couple of drops in just to create some suds. As the tub started to fill, she smiled to herself. She realized she hadn't self-indulged in quite some time. She removed the rest of her clothing and just soaked. But where she thought she could actually relax, her mind took over. Suddenly and overwhelming sense of emotion took over, and all she could do was weep. She had several months of pent up emotion that suddenly made its way to the surface. Right there, that moment, she just kept saying it, "Oh how I miss you…" alone in that tub, in her quarters, safe from prying ears, "I miss you" is all she could verbalize. She never loved a man so much as she did General Jack O'Neill. The countless times they had saved each other's lives. How his use of the word "always" and C'mere, when she needed comforting were her safe haven. She sat and wondered about all the alternate realities where they were married or engaged. She wondered if she was honest with him that day at the house, before he father died, or honest with herself the day she was stranded on the Prometheus, if things would have been different. Where would her life be right now? Would she be with him, married? She couldn't deny that she thought of it, and lately a lot more. So with that she rinsed herself off, and made her way out. She dried herself, and crawled into bed, hoping her mind would settle down and let her sleep. As she gazed outside her window, to the beautiful view she had of Atlantis, her eyes grew heavy, and she slowly drifted away, but right before she did, her last thought was "I miss you".


	2. Chapter 2

ATLANTIS: MORNING

Sam was found in her office early. Sleep was something that she could not conquer. Yawning over a cup of coffee, she tried to complete the load of reports that were still on her desk. Her focus was so intense she didn't hear Jennifer knocking on her door.

"Colonel?" Jennifer called to her. Sam was deep in thought. Something told Jennifer it didn't have anything to do with the report that was in front of her. She remembers her conversation while stuck in that underground mine. She also knew that SG1 had become such a tight family, and that couldn't be so easily replaceable.

"Colonel?" she said again, this time entering the office, before Sam noticed.

"Jennifer" Sam said startled. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in" she stated, pretending to be working on the reports in front of her.

"I just wanted to let you know, that we've completing our testing of the planet, and we are good to go. I'd like to be able to retrieve the samples, so that we can start testing as soon as possible" Jennifer said hoping to bring Sam back from her thoughts. They were conducting research on a planet, and discovered plants with amazing healing properties. But they first had to go through quarantine before they can bring them to Atlantis, in case of any diseases.

"Of course! I'll have a team go with to assist" Sam immediately snapped back into Colonel Mode. She realized she needed to stay in that mode. These people depended on her, no matter how lonely she was truly feeling.

Several hours later…..

Colonel Sam Carter, was back. She assisted the team, in retrieving the samples, and completed her reports. She made her rounds, as she always did, suppressing memories and emotions. The cry she had in the tub that night, allowed for a release, which now enabled her to be more focused.

She bounced into her normal routine, and her team, her new team, sensed she was feeling better. They admired her greatly for they knew she was an exceptional leader, and they were also learning she was a great friend.

As she made her rounds, she reached the Gate Room. The monthly normal supplies, were being delivered, and maintained. She did her normal sign offs, and overview of supplies. The gate activates, getting ready for its next shipment to arrive. As the crew begins to unload, an unexpected arrival enters through the gate. Sam's back was to the gate, assessing all the supplies that arrived. When she heard the commotion from the crew behind, she didn't have to time to turn around before she heard an all too familiar voice. "Good morning, All"

She suddenly froze.

"Could it be?" "Am I dreaming?" she thought to herself.

It was none other than General Jack O'Neill.

"Surprise" He stated, with his hands wailing in the air.

Sam couldn't move.

"Ahh…Carter…." Jack knew how she hated surprises. With her back turned to him, she took a deep breath and slowly turned to face him.

"Sir…I, Um….I didn't…did I miss something…..I didn't" Sam was reaching for words. Her mind was going a mile a minute wondering if she missed something. How can I not know he was coming? Did I miss a report to review? What kind of a leader am I that I don't know the General is coming for a visit?

"Hey…you can stop thinking Carter" Jack said. Oh he knew her so well.

"Hence why I said, Surprise" he knew it would drive her crazy if he didn't elaborate.

He moved closer to her. She could hardly breathe. The timing of this was incredible. Just when she thought she had suppressed all the emotions she was experiencing, her heart walks through the gate, and is standing inches away from her.

"Carter?" Jack said. He could still see the wheels turning in her mind. But he could also sense something was wrong. What he wanted to do was, tell her to C'mere, and hold her, because in all honesty, he was missing her as well, but the audience they currently had did not allow for it. So Jack did what he did best, made light of the situation.

He stepped away from her.

"Quite a place you have here" he said, looking around, trying change the mood.

Sam realized she had to snap out of it.

"Thank you, thank you Sir…" she walked towards him.

"Had I known you were coming we would have been better prepared." She stated. The subtle remark was just enough to confirm that she still hated surprises.

"Would you like the 50 cent tour?" She said and gave him that all familiar smile.

"I'd love it, Carter, but first, the mess hall…I'm starving" He could see that she was lightening up.

All he wanted to do was grab and hold her. Carter wasn't the only one who was suffering. Her CO, her love, was missing her as well.

They both walked side by side to the mess hall. No words spoken. She again gave him that all familiar smile that melted him each time.

"So Carter, how are you settling in?" He wanted to break the silence, as well as the thoughts that were running through his head.

"Quite nicely Sir" she said, but not to convincing.

"That's great Carter" Jack said, knowing she wasn't being honest, but now wasn't the time to pry.

"The people here have been quite welcoming, and I'm starting to gain my footing" she said, as they neared the mess hall.

"That's great Carter… didn't doubt it for a second" Jack said. The confidence he had in her, always made her smile. But he still could sense there wasn't something off about her. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he definitely was going to find out.

They arrived at the mess hall. All eyes were on him as he entered the room. Before everyone got up to salute him, he yelled out "At Ease…At ease". Again he knew he would take everyone by surprise.

They all sat, and at one point they were all starring. Here was their Colonel, and now her once, Colonel now General arriving with no announcement. She realized that it could look bad on her, that she didn't announce his arrival.

But Jack knew her so well, so before she even reacted,

"Good afternoon everyone, just here on a surprise visit to see an old friend, and to finally take a look at this place. You all have a great set up, pretty sweet, I say"

With that, the mood immediately changed. Everyone smiled, chuckled, and went back to their conversations, and meals.

He looked at Carter, she just had that amazing grin. They can almost read each other's minds.

They grabbed some food, and sat down at a corner table, hoping to get some privacy. Well as much as they could with a mess hall full of military and the like.

They sat quietly for a time, and just ate. She had to admit, eating was something she had foregone as well. Something he knew all too well.

Jennifer was sitting nearby, and slowly started to put one and one together. Her mind went back to that underground mine. "Wait…what was it that she said?" she thought to herself.

"Hmm…a General, in Washington, older, complicated…" Jennifer suddenly realized Jack O'Neill was more than the General to Samantha Carter. She smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" John asked, seeing her face. He had joined her for some grub.

"Huh…oh nothing, it's just good to see her smiling again" she said, trying not to look so obvious.

"They've been through a lot together" John stated.

"Yes, they have" Jennifer replied.

John started walking towards them.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jennifer said. She didn't want him to interrupt them.

"I'm just gonna let Sam know that everything's been taken care of in the gate room, and she doesn't have to worry about it..." he said. He knew her well enough to know that she would go right back to work, if she had an outstanding issue to take care of. Jennifer understood.

"Good afternoon General. Great to see you" John said.

"Hey Sheppard" Jack replied.

"Great to see you as well, heck of a place you got here" Jack said.

"Yea, we manage" John smirked.

"Well listen, I don't want to interrupt. Just wanted to let Carter know, I've taken care of the shipment in the gate room. We are all good to go" John wanted to make sure she knew she could let her hair down, just a little.

"Oh wow, um, thank you John, you didn't need to do that" She said, worried if she had slacked on her responsibilities.

"Hey that's what friends are for, huh. Besides it would give you time to catch with the General" John said. He knew what the past several weeks were a lot more than just missing SG-1.

Where Sam would have protested or argued that she would have gone back and taken care of it, she smiled at John, and said "Thank you"

"You got it" John replied, and with that he walked away and let them be. Jack looked at Sam, he found himself just staring at her. "God she is beautiful" he said to himself. Her hair had grown, and she was wearing it out. She usually always had it tied back. This new look of Carter, he was liking, a lot.

"Sir…" Sam, called out to him. She could see he was in another world.

"Huh…oh…right right, so as I was saying" Jack had no idea what he was saying, but he knew what he was thinking.

"So are you going to tell me, the real reason you're here?" She broke the silence.

"Can't a friend, come out and see a friend" Jack said, shoving his mouth with a spoonful of mash potatoes.

"Sir" she said, but gave him a look as if to say, you're lying but she knew he knew her well, so the look was enough.

"Carter, listen,…. The paper pushing, stuffy parties, where driving me mad. I needed a break. So when I read the report…

"You read a report?" Carter interrupted, and chuckled softly under her breathe.

Jack paused, and gave her that sarcastic look.

"A-s I re-ad th-e re-port," He said slowly after her remark, " that equipment was being shipped to Atlantis, I decided to tag along" He said.

"And here I am". He looked around and bobbled his head, as only Jack O'Neill would do.

Carter just smiled. She was taking in every curvature of his face, his jaw line, his eyes, and his smile. She found herself there again, "Oh how she missed this man".

"Carter?" Jack saw she suddenly was in deep though.

"Huh…oh sorry Sir…" she replied. "Well, it's really great to see you…I've missed you" before she knew those very words came out of her mouth.

He paused for a second, but didn't skip a beat "I missed ya too Carter". Keeping it light ..

They sat and continue to eat, keeping the mood, light, talking about Atlantis. They found themselves reminiscing about all times. Jack did have a reason as to why he was there, but needed to find the most opportune moment. For right now, he was enjoying seeing his Sam. For that's how he saw her. He never acted it on, even when she almost married Pete, but in his heart, mind and soul, she was his. They sat for a little while longer, and Jack broke the silence.

"So that 50 cent tour" He said, getting up and stretching.

Sam smiled. "Ah, yes…" she said. "Shall we?"

She got up from her seat, and they headed to the promenade. She wanted to show him the view from there first. As they walked, they would lightly touch each other, as their hands were on their sides. Neither of them knowing that each touch from each other, was a igniting the embers they had for so many years.

As they reached the Promenade, the doors opened. The view was breath taking. Jack was taken aback.

"Holy Hanna Carter" he said. She shot a look at him, and started laughing. He had adapted to her euphemisms just as she had adapted to his.

"Gorgeous isn't it?" She said back watching him marvel at the site. But then suddenly he wasn't marveling the view of the city, but the view of a gorgeous blonde, standing in front of him.

He saw that they were finally alone. He stepped closer to her, with his hands in his pocket. She couldn't move. How she longed to here that word.

They stood in silence for a brief moment, long enough for a tear to roll down Sam's face. Sam's emotions were taking over, and he knew it.

"C'mere" He said. The one/two words she was waiting to hear, and extended his arms to her.

She fell into his embrace. She couldn't hold back the tears. He just held her, and with her guard down, like it's never been before, she shocked herself; with the next words she uttered "God I missed you Jack". Jack was glad she couldn't see his face. The use of his first name, made him realize, there was a lot more to this hug than he realized. And he reciprocated. "I've missed you too Sam" and then placed his face on the side of her neck. No kiss, just his lips so close to her neck, but not touching. She held on tighter. And he just rocked her side to side, and let her cry. Much like when Dr. Frasier passed. They just held each other for that moment.

With what felt like an eternity, they stood there holding each other. Jack finally broke the embrace. He wiped her tears away.

"You ok?" he asked her. Wanting everything is his being to kiss this amazing women standing in front of him.

She nodded. She probably could cry for another hour, but she knew she had to get it together.

"Thank you" she said

"For what?" he said.

"For being here" she said.

"Remember Carter, Always" He said. He meant every word of it. When her fathered died, he was there for her. And he would always be there for her.

He leaned in and gently laid a kiss on her forehead.

By this time, it was getting late, and he knew he needed to go take a cold shower because a certain women by the name of Samantha Carter had made his body react in all kinds of ways.

"How about you show me where I can crash for the night" he said.

"Of course…I'll bring you to our guest quarters" she said.

"It's a pretty sweet set up" she said to him, knowing she would never put him up in anything but the best.

"Lead the way, Colonel" he said with the biggest smirk on his face.

She smiled and led him down the corridor.

They reached his door. They both just stood knowing what each really wanted but not being able to act on it.

"Well you have a good night Sir" She broke the awkwardness'.

"You too Carter…how bout we do breakfast tomorrow" he already wanted to be with her as soon as I got up.

"I'd like that Sir…." She said with a Cheshire grin.

"Then breakfast it is. Tomorrow morning then" He said.

"Good night Sir" She said, but this time he said, "Good night Sam".

Hearing her name on his lips, she made her smile grow larger.

Her heart was bubbling over. Where 2 weeks ago, she was missing this man so much her heart ached, here he was making her heart pound almost out of her chest. She smiled. Her head dropped, and she walked away.

As she walked the corridor to her quarters, she almost had a quick in her step. He is here, He was with her. She knew tonight, she would conquer sleep, because Jack had conquered her heart.


	3. Chapter 3

**ATLANTIS NEXT MORNING**

The sun slowly came through Sam's window. She realized she had slept the entire night. She couldn't remember when she did that last. She started to think about what happened the day before. She wasn't sure she was dreaming. She slowly sat up on her bed, with a bewildered look on her face, still in a sleep phase. She was having a hard time associating reality with "dream-ality". The sudden beep at her door brought her back to reality.

"One second, she said, loudly" as she got up to put her robe on. She ran to the door only to find an eager Jack O'Neill, at her doorstep.

"AH, Good morning to ya" He said, with this grin on his face. Looks like Sam wasn't the only one who had slept well.

"Sir…." Sam said as she finished tying her robe. "Good morning"

"Carter…did you just wake up?" he said. Carter was never one to sleep in. But before she went to bed, she had reviewed her schedule for the next day as she always did. She had no early morning meetings, and breakfast with her Jack, was at the top of her list.

"Um…I guess I did Sir…" She said. "I haven't really been sleeping well." She said. "Guess it all caught up to me."

Awkward moment.

They both stood there. She finally bit the bullet, and said, "Would you like to come in Sir, I'll only be a moment' she said.

"Su-reee" he said. As Carter walked away to shower and get ready, He thought about what she said, "Not sleeping well" ..something is definitely wrong. He tucked that piece of information aside, and waited for her.

"Wow Carter… sweet digs" he said as he looked around her room. Especially when he realized the view the promenade was the same view outside her bedroom window.

"Thanks Sir..I guess being Colonel has it perks" she yelled from the shower.

He can hear the water running, and he could not control where his mind was going. Thank God it was a quick shower, before he knew she was stepping out the bathroom. By this time he was so ancy he had picked up a frame on a side table in her living room. He needed something in his hands, something to occupy the time. Thing is he never looked at the photo. When he finally did, he realized it was a photo of him. He grinned knowing, this women loves me as much as I love her. She stepped into her living space, as he gently placed the picture back where he found it. But not quick enough for her to see he had seen it. She just smiled.

"You ready?" she said. She felt any more time spent in her quarters might lead to a court martial.

"You sure u betcha" he said. And with that they headed to breakfast. As they walked the corridor, they continued to reminisce. Sam would giggle on something Daniel had said or done to tick off Jack and Jack would mimic Tealc's facial expressions.

They reached the mess hall. By this time most of the people were already busy at work. It was quiet. They got their food, and sat at the same corner table. They ate quietly. No words needed to be said. The fact that the two of them, were there together was enough. But as they say all good things come to an end, the overhead comm goes off.

"Unscheduled off world activation." They both immediately got up. It was instinctual. Breakfast was going to have to wait.

They made their way to the Control Room and walked over to Chuck's console.

"We're receiving a signal. It's Captain Robbins on M2R-441." Chuck stated.

Jack looked bewildered.

"They're delivering medical supplies to a planet that was recently culled." She said.

"Ah" Jack said, as he always did when, he didn't have anything else to say.

"Patch him in." Sam said.

"Captain, this is Colonel Carter. Please report." She said, as soon as she got the go, that she was on air.

"We had a bit of a situation here, Colonel. We've run into some locals, who are injured. Said some creatures came in and started blasting everything in sight. Some were able to get away and hide, but some are in pretty bad shape.

"All right. I'll send Dr. Keller. Report back in an hour. Carter out" Sam said. She had to make sure there were no pathogens that can infect the base before she had these people enter Atlantis.

Jack just sat back and watched her work. She shined. The people there respected her. And so did he.

He had that Cheshire grin. She just looked at him, and smiled back.

"Chuck, I'll be back in an hour" Carter said. With that she made her way to Jack.

"Sir, I've got some reports I need to complete, if you…"

"Lead the way" Jack interrupted.

She started to walk and he followed her. She reached her office, and Jack took a seat, noticing the pictures that were on the desk behind her, specifically him.

"Nice digs Carter" He said.

"Thanks Sir….I can't complain" She said. Admitting her office was a nice set up.

"Sir…this might take a while" she said. She did not soon forget how fidgety he can get while waiting.

"That's fine Carter…I can sit and wait" He said. She immediately glanced at him, with a look of, "NOT".

"What…I can wait…" Jack forgot for a moment how well she knew him.

With that, Sam started on the reports and Jack sat and waited. At first he did well. He sat quietly, for about a half hour. But he didn't last long. He started pacing, and touching things in her office. It was driving her crazy.

"Sir" she immediately said. She knew the man couldn't sit and wait.

She closed her report. "How bout I give you that tour I promised you"she said.

She knew she still had a half hour before Dr. Keller reported back from the planet.

"You sure, Carter? I'm fine sitting here" He said, knowing he was driving her crazy.

"Oh, I'm sure" she said. She led the way.

They walked side by side, as she should him the areas of Atlantis. They made their way back to the promenade. He liked this area. There was something about it. They looked out into the city.

No words were spoken they just stood there, enjoying each other's presence.

Just then, Sam's Comm went off.

"Colonel come in" it was chuck from the control room.

"Go ahead" She replied.

"I have Dr. Keller" he said

"Put her through" Sam said.

"This is Colonel Carter. Go ahead" She said.

"Colonel, I've assessed everyone, and I can't do much for these people here." She said.

"All, right why don't you bring them back" Carter said. Knowing Dr. Keller would have assessed them all for any viruses or pathogen that can affect Atlantis.

"Understood" Keller replied back.

She paused and looked at Jack.

"I gotta….," she pointed as if to say, she has to go and be Colonel Carter.

He just smiled at her.

"I think I'm gonna park myself right here Carter" Jack said. He did not want to get in the way, of her doing her job.

"You sure Sir, …I" she said, but before she can finish her sentence, he interrupted her.

"You have a job to do Carter, I don't want to get in your way" he said. "I'll be here when you get back" he assured her.

"Thanks sir.." She said.

"You sure you betcha" he said. Knowing that always made her smile. And she did.

By this time the team and the people from the planet, and entered the gate. D. Keller had them all situated in the infirmary.

"Hi Colonel" Dr. Keller said, as she continue to assist the injured people.

"Status, Dr" Carter said. I was just about to page, Colonel"

"Well, we have several broken bones that we are setting, and casting. We also have some internal bleeding, that we have been able to stabilize, but this is what you'll find interesting.

The Dr. led Sam to a young lady on one of the gernies.

She won't let anyone touch her. I've given her 2 sedatives that should have put a horse down, and nothing. " Dr. Keller stated.

"Is she a threat?" Carter asked thinking quickly as a Colonel should.

"I don't think so….Dr. Keller stated. "Thing is….she keeps asking for you" she said.

"Me? What do you mean?" Carter said in bewilderment.

"All she keeps repeating, is Sam, here…Sam Carter…she won't stop asking for you. Do you know her?" Dr. Keller asked.

"I've never met her" Carter quickly asked.

"Well, I guess I'll find out now" Carter said as she walked towards the girl.

She was holding her knees, and had her face buried in them, she just whimpered.

"Hi" Carter said softly. The girl slowly looked up. She continued to cry, and ask them not to hurt her.

"Hey, hey, no one is going to hurt you. We are here to help you" Carter tried to reassure the girl.

"Please…Sam Carter, do you know, Sam Carter" the girl continued to ask. She didn't recognize Carter in the least, since she only knew her by name.

"I am Sam Carter" Carter replied.

"Sam…." The girl said gently. "You're the Sam Carter, so many have spoken of?" The girl slowly relaxed on the bed, and started to whimper.

Carter placed her hand on her knee to try to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, "Carter stated. "I'm not sure we've met before?"

"We haven't" the girl said.

"What is your name?" Carter asked. Confused as to where this girl could possibly know her from.

"My name is Kaylia" she replied.

I am a descendant of the Shavadai people. Carter looked puzzled. The tribe name sounded so familiar but Carter couldn't place it.

Kaylia continued…

"You came to our planet, many moons ago. Women were not allowed to speak or show there face in public, for they would be put to death" Suddenly Carter slowly started to remember a certain Abu who tried to sell her.

"Abu" Carter said.

"Yes…yes….he tried to sell you to retrieve the love he desired. But that did not turn out well. You beat Turghan in hand battle. It was then when we, as women, started our own revolution. Since then, women have gained knowledge, tremendous knowledge. We learned the dials from the Sea of Ogada. We began to explore worlds we had never seen before" Kaylia said.

At this point she was showing signs of exhaustion. Dr. Keller still could not believe that the sedatives she had given her had not knocked her out. Somehow Kaylia's physique was different.

"You figured out the dialing device? That's impossible it took us years to decipher the dialing device, nonetheless addresses to dial" Carter was dumbfounded. How could they have figured the Stargate out?

"I tell you the truth Sam. Many of us migrated to other worlds. We educated our women and still do" the young girl said. At this point she had leaned back. Dr. Keller could see that the girl needed was fading.

Dr. Keller slowly walked over and interrupted. "Hey…" she said as she started to adjust Kaylia's pillow, "I think that's enough questions for now" Dr. Keller said.

Carter knew she was right, but she was dumbfounded that they had figured the Stargate without any prior knowledge. Were these an advanced people, that they weren't aware when they visited their planet so many years ago?

"Right….."Carter said, trying not to drill the girl for further questions.

"Hey, why don't you get some rest…..we don't need to cover all this now, ok?" Carter said. She slowly took the blanket and started to cover the young girl.

"I am quite tired" Kaylia said as she was fighting to keep her eyes open.

"Rest…I'm not going anywhere….I'll have the Dr. come get me as soon as you wake up, ok?" Carter tried to reassure her.

"Ok" Kaylia said, as she slowly drifted to sleep.

Dr. Keller came by and checked her vitals. Where the girls vitals were hay wire when she first came in, they had stabilized. There definitely was something about meeting Colonel Carter, that calmed this girl down. She was just glad to see her finally resting.

"So…do you know what she is talking about?" Dr. Keller asked.

"Well…sort of…..SG1 visited her planet, and let's just say they were less than welcoming when they saw a women dressed in pants" Carter said.

Just then Jack had walked in. He was getting antsy. He seriously wasn't one for waiting.

"Sir" Carter immediately said. She almost forgot. She did tell him she would meet him later on.

"Carter" He said looking at the girl and the Dr. Carter suddenly realizing she was staring too long at him.

"Dr. Keller, this is Colonel O'Neill" Carter said quickly, hoping the stare wasn't so obvious.

"Colonel O'Neill, from Washington, yes?" she said. They shook hands, O'Neill with his always puzzled face, but then said "Yup, that would be me".

Suddenly Carter realized why Dr. Keller made the comment. Their discussions while in the underground mine. Right there and then, she realized Dr. Keller knew who O'Neill really was.

Carter started to blush. With her fair skin, it wasn't something she could easily hide.

"Carter, you o.k?" Jack said, seeing her change colors.

"I'm fine…." She said quickly. "Dr. you let me know when she wakes?" she asked. Dr. Keller could see that Sam put two and two together, and gave her a quick grin.

"Sir, how bout we go get something to eat?" Carter quickly tried to change the subject. Sam was never one to suggest eating. She was always the one to forget to eat. So her question took Jack a back. But he played along.

"Sure Sa—Carter…" Jack almost slipped with her name, "Lead the way"

Carter quickly started to make her way to the mess hall, with Jack in foot. Jack nodded to Dr. Keller, and followed Carter.

"Hey…" he called out to her. She was almost at a jogging pace.

"Hey…" he said again. "Slow down…mess hall ain't going anywhere" He said as he grabbed her elbow.

"Sorry Sir..i just…" Carter was at a loss for words. It feared that Dr. Keller could say something and jeopardize both their careers.

They both stopped in the middle of the corridor. He stopped her long enough to just let her catch her breath and relax.

"I'm fine Sir….the people that came back" she was trying to change the subject so to not to reflect what she was really feeling.

"O.K.' Jack said seeing she didn't really want to talk about what was really bothering her.

"You're talking about the kid in the infirmary" He said. Everyone younger than him was a kid.

"Yea…" Carter said, glad that he wasn't going to push the other subject.

She continued to tell him what the young girl told him. He too was shocked to know that they were able to figure out the stargate in such a short period of time, and that Sam Carters name was something they revered. Carter continued to tell him what she said, as they made their way to the mess hall. They grabbed their food and made their way to their same corner table.

"So, you're telling me the women were able to not only figure out the stargate, but able to dial to other planets" Jack said as he filled his mouth with a spoon full of mash potatoes.

Carter just looked at him and smiled. She seriously didn't realize how much having him around meant to her.

"Carter?" Jack said. Watching her gaze at him was nice but people were always watching.

"Yes…yes…right Sir…." She came back to reality.

"Interesting" O'Neill said.

She looked at him with an annoyance because she knew although he played dumb; Jack O'Neill had a knack for figuring things out.

They continue their meal, in silence, enjoying each other's presence. A chime suddenly came in through Carters com. "Colonel Carter, come in please" it was Dr. Keller.

"Yes Dr. Keller" Carter replied, wiping off the remnants of some blue jello she'd just enjoyed.

"You wanted me to alert you when Kaylia was up. She's up and persistently asking for you" she said.

"I'll be right there" Carter said.

"The girl is up Sir. She is asking for me." She slowly got up wishing she could just sit with him for hours, but she knew her duties as Colonel wouldn't allow for it.

"I'll come with" Jack said.

Carter gave him a quizzical look, but didn't contest his statement. She figured all though they weren't spending alone time together she would take anything she could get.

They made their way down to the infirmary. Again, hands on their sides and occasionally touching. His presence alone made her body quiver. She thought to herself, would she ever be with the man she loved. Would it ever happen?

"Carter" Jack could see she was in deep thought.

"Sir, Yes…." she said back. Trying to stop her mind from going to that place where she knew it couldn't.

"You kind of blanked there for a second" Jack said as they neared the infirmary.

"Sorry Sir was thinking about the time we visited that planet Sir…" she quickly came up with a response but the color that started to rise from her neck to her face told a different story.

Jack knew she was lying. Again he knew her better that she knew herself. But decided to tuck that away in his back pocket and leave it alone. They arrived at the infirmary, where the girl was anxiously waiting to see Sam again.

Before she reached her bed, she yelled her name.

"Sam…..so happy to see you again, Sam?" Kaylia said.

"How are you feeling?" Carter asked hoping the young girl had settled in.

"Much better thank you..Kaylia said, as she leaned to her side to get a better view of the man standing behind Carter. She remembered her people speaking of a man who revered Sam just as much as they did. They spoke of this older man, who Sam obeyed and yet he did not own her or abuse her.

"Are you Jack…Jack… O'Neill?... is that your name?" Kaylia asked.

Again everyone was taken aback. Not only did Sam's name go down in the history of this planet, but now they see that Jack too, was known.

"Ah, yes…that's me… last time I checked?" Jack said adding a little humor to the weirdness.

"Yes…..yes…my people spoke highly of you as well… They saw how you revered Samantha as not only a woman but a warrior. Although noticeably much older than her, we could see how much you cared for her, while she fought the battle with Turghan and won. The women watched the intensity in your eyes, as the one you cared for was about to fight to the death." Kaylia said.

By this point Carter didn't know what to do with herself. She was surrounded by nurses, as well as a very in tune Dr. Keller.

"Ah" is all Jack was able to get out.

"The startgate, Kaylia?" Carter quickly changed the subject hoping the questions would not be coming later.

"Stargate?" Kaylia asked confused….then she realized what she meant.

"Ah yes, you mean the Sea of Ogada" she replied.

"Yes…how were you able to activate it…so quickly?" Carter asked, whose curiosity was getting the best of her.

Kaylia started to explain that as the women began to gain there freedom, they started to realize that there capacity for learning was higher than the men. They kept it a secret for quite some time knowing that they might try to bring them back into oppression knowing that they could easily outsmart them.

They would hide in caves, and learn what they could. At night they would visit the Sea of Ogada, and study immensely. They had found journals and books within their village that spoke of the Sea of Ogada. The men never paid attention to them, and treated the books and history books and that's all. But the women, with their advance learning were able to absorb the information in the journals, and texts that they found and quickly learn how the Sea of Ogada worked.

Once they figured it out, they decided that leaving and starting their own people would be best for them. They started out in small numbers. The addresses they had found in the books, and journals left behind by their ancestors. It was only to these addresses that they dialed into. The books also spoke of the Goauld, and other beings that destroyed planets. As they gained there confidence, they would share the information with some of the men they trusted. It was then that they started to travel through the gate as unioned people. From there it progressed, and we began our own people, and villages.

"Amazing.." Carter stated.

Suddenly Kaylia became quiet. Tears started to roll down her face.

"Kaylia, are you ok?" Carter quickly asked.

Through her tears, she tried to explain what happened, next "They came through the Sea of Ogada…killing whatever was in there way. I was in the fields, teaching the young ones, about the sky and moons above us, when I heard the sheer cries of my people. I gathered as many of the children as I could, and try to make it to the caves to hide, Eli was right behind me….I heard him yelling to keep running, keep running….." by this point Kaylia could barely speak, the tears and whimpers grew stronger.

"Eli…who's Eli?" Carter asked.

"He.. was..he was…..my, Jack O'neill" Kaylia said as she let out a cry from her soul.

The silence in the room was defining. Carter didn't know how to respond. "Her Jack O'Neill" she thought to herself. How do I respond to this? Carter treaded lightly. She knew listening ears were all around her and she was still Colonel Samantha Carter. Jack on the other hand, just had his hands in his pockets and looked to the ground. It amazed him how, they were on the planet for such a short period of time and yet the women can sense how he cared for her, so early on.

"I loved him so…" Kaylia said. "He was my mate, my soul, my union. He cared for me, and yet let me flourish in my abilities of knowledge. He even encouraged learning how to fight to make sure I knew how to fend for myself in danger. But these beings moved so quickly….we ran as fast as we could…I reached the cave, but when I looked back, Eli wasn't there. I can hear him yelling for me to continue running and not look back, and then I heard this blast and a curdling sound…and I knew..I knew…my Eli was gone… I couldn't call for him, for it would have given up our location. There were so many children, that I had to try to keep quiet. But it didn't help. They found us. We ran, and ran, and I couldn't protect them. One by one they killed them, they killed them all" Kaylia could no longer speak, for her cries were now becoming a cry of pain and hurt from within.

Dr Keller quickly came, and administered a sedative into her IV hoping this time it would take effect.

"I think that's enough for now" She quickly stated, concerned about her patients well being.

Carter didn't realize but tears had begun to roll down her face. The tragedy this young girl saw, no one should ever see. Carter held her close. She couldn't imagine what this girl had gone through, she saw the loss of children, she was sure she loved as much as she loved Cassie, and then to hear the loss of the man she loved, would tear anyone apart.

"Shhh..shhh" Carter said as she held her. Carter's tears were not only for what Kaylia had gone through but she knew she would not know what she would do if she lost Jack. She thought to herself how long will she have to dance this dance, till she can be with him. She glanced at him, and he was staring at them both. This time she held her stare at him. Almost hoping he would be able to read her thoughts. Jack just looked down.

"Hey…why don't we get some rest o.k. You're safe now. I am so sorry for your loss. I truly am" Carter said.

"We will try to find you an appropriate planet where you can start again. It won't be easy, but I can tell you are a determined race." Carter said to her.

By this time, Kaylia's eyes were growing heavy. She nodded and smiled, and dozed off. Dr. Keller checked her vitals, and she was resting comfortably.

"Wow" Dr. Keller said.

"Yea…" is all Carter could out. She wiped her tears away and snapped back into Colonel mode.

"Colonel Shepard, come in" she called into her Com.

"Yes, Colonel," he replied.

"I need for us to start looking for a conducive planet to re-locate these people" she said as she made her way to her office, Jack in stride, letting her work.

"Got it Colonel. I'm on it" Sheppard replied.

"Thank you, Carter out" She said.

As she made her way to her office, Jack could see the ache her face. He wasn't the only one feeling the heartache in that room. He as well, thought to himself, what would he do if he lost Carter?.

This was his breaking point. He knew he had to tell her why he was really there, because tomorrow was not promised.

As he walked behind his planning began. They reached her office. She sat. No words were spoken, till he broke the silence.

"hey, you ok?" he said, walking towards her.

She just looked at him. Not knowing what to say or do.

"I'm fine Sir" she said, "my heart just goes out to Kaylia. I could never imagine seeing so much loss at one time." She said.

He just smiled at her. He leaned against her desk, and just softly rubbed her hand. They suddenly had a moment. Her body was reacting, and all she wanted to do was throw herself into his arms. But she knew she couldn't.

"I'm sorry Sir" she broke the awkwardness. "I really need to get to work, and find these people a home" she said.

"And you will" he said. The faith he had in this woman, never ceased to amaze her.

She gave him that all familiar smile.

"I'm gonna take a walk…." He said. He knew she needed to work, at that he was being a distraction,

As he made his way out her office, "Thank you" she said.

He stopped, and turned towards her, "always" is all he needed to say. He left her office, but she hadn't left his mind. He knew he had to tell her. But the when and why and how is what he needed to figure out.

**Hours later….**

He didn't see Carter for hours. She was in complete Colonel mode. And he let her be. In the meantime General O'Neill was making plans of his own.

He knew he wouldn't have her full attention till Carter had found a home for these people. So he took that time to do his planning. It had to be right, so right.

**Several weeks back….**

General O'Neill sat at his desk. Reports, paperwork, meetings, were not his forte. He found himself missing SG1 more and more, and specifically a blonde female. He would find himself lost in thought many times, thinking of all the missions they had together. The countless times she had saved his life, with no regards of her own.

"How long will this need to go on?" He would ask himself silently. He's faced Goaul'd, God's of all kinds, Blackholes, and yet he couldn't bring himself to just tell her how he felt.

He realized more and more that life was short. Losing Dr. Frasier was proof of that.

It was then he knew he had to take that step. He pulled out a piece company letterhead from his desk, and began to write.

_To whom it May Concern..This letter is to inform you that I will be retiring. I have served the country with all I have, and have been honored to be part this military service for so long._

_With regards,_  
_General Jack O'Neill_

He folded the letter, placed it in an envelope, and knew he had to plan this right. He remembered reading one of the reports stating supplies were heading to Atlantis. And that is where he needed to be.

The day came. He walked into the Commanding office placed the letter on their desk, Saluted and said

"It's been an honor serving". Without any hesitation he walked out of the office, with everyone in shock. The man had served for so long and had become such an asset to the program. Jack quickly made his way, to where the supplies were being held. He nodded to the airmen, (who typically would not allow anyone who was not on the roster) but he knew General O'Neill wouldn't take no for an answer. Jack was on his way to Atlantis.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Present time…_**

Kaylia had been released from the infirmary. She was doing much better, and they had provided her with quarters.

She had asked to see Carter.

Carter was sitting at her office, mulling through reports, persistently trying to find a world for Kaylia and her surviving people.

"Colonel" the airman said.

Carter looked up and saw Kaylia.

"Hi, yes please come in" she said.

Kaylia slowly came in.

"Sam…I hope I'm not disturbing you" she said as she looked around.

"Oh..no..no not at all…I apologize for not coming and seeing you sooner. I have been trying to find you a home, and it's been taking most of my time" Sam said.

"It's alright. I understand" Kaylia said.

She looked around as if she was looking for someone.

"Where is Jack?" Kaylia asked.

For a second there, Carter almost had forgotten he was there.

"He's…he's" Carter had no idea where he was.

He hadn't come by in several hours. But he also knew that she needed to work, so he knew not to disturb.

Sam not puzzled, but quickly gained her thoughts

"Airman, would you find out where the General is, please?" Sam asked.

"Yes Ma'm" he replied.

Sam then came and sat with Kaylia.

"How have you been feeling?" she asked her.

"I am well Sam….Your Dr. has been quite kind, and they even gave me a room to stay in". She said.

"Is this your planet? This dome?" Kaylia asked.

Carter realizing she had not seen the outside world.

"Oh no..this is just our work areas, and tents, as you would know them" Carter said.

"Come let me show you this world" Sam escorted her to the promenade where Kaylia can get a glimpse of the city.

The doors opened, and Kaylia was taken aback.

"This is, this is…" she was speechless.

"Grand isn't it" Jack said.

Carter and Kaylia both were startled. They did not realize he was standing there.

"Sir…I didn't know you were here" Carter said.

"Ah well, you've been quite busy, figure I'd plant myself here and enjoy the view" He said. Something told her, his statement had more to it, but she didn't dig further. She just gave him that all too familiar smile, as she walked to stand beside him.

"Jack" Kaylia said. "It is good to see you. Your city is beautiful. I have never seen anything like this"

"Yes, beautiful in more ways than one" Jack said, slowly looking at Carter when he said it.

Carter blushed, and couldn't say anything. She just stood there as Jack refocused his attention back to the city.

Kaylia watched intentively.

Tears started to form in her eyes, and roll down her face. She quickly faced the city as to not to draw attention to herself. But it was too late. Sam saw the tears and quickly came to her side.

"Kaylia…you alright?" she asked.

"I'm sorry..it's just…I miss my Eli so, and the children…when I look at you and Jack, I see what could have been between Eli and I. " she said as she wiped her tears.

Her and Jack? Was it that obvious. She tried not to react to he statement.

Sam went to her and held her close hoping a hug would help, knowing nothing but time can heal the pain Kaylia was experiencing.

As Sam held her Kaylia suddenly began to feel inner turmoil that Sam was experiencing herself. She immediately pulled away from Sam.

"Sam..why do you ache so?" she asked.

Sam looked bewildered. "What did she mean?" she asked herself, confused about Kaylia's statement.

"What?" Sam quickly responded. "Kaylia..I'm fine" she said.

"No…you struggle with something within. An ache, a want but you cannot have, similar to my ache for Eli. But I do not understand, Your Jack is here, right here. So why do you ache so." Kaylia quickly stated.

Sam didn't know how to react. But before she realized it the tears were just falling from her eyes. Kaylia's statement caught her completely off guard. She couldn't catch her breathe. She couldn't even respond. Jack just stood there. It didn't take a rocket scientist to realize what Kaylia was talking about. Sam ached for him. She ached for someone she thought she could not have due to military regulations.

Kaylia saw her reaction. The young girl was confused. She didn't know about the regulations, so she could not understand how Sam could ache for a love that stood right in front of her.

"Sam why do you cry? I do not understand. I did not mean to upset you" Kaylia can see how her statement through Sam for a loop.

"It's ok." Sam tried to re-assure her. "I just..I just…don't understand how you sense that" Sam said, wiping the tears. And not realizing she did not deny it.

Jack just stood there. Not knowing what to do or say. He honestly just wanted to grab Sam and hold her but knew he would just confuse Kaylia even more.

"You see, not only were our women able to retain knowledge, we found that amongst us, we have few women that had some type of sensory ability. We could not explain it. It was found more in the older women of our tribes. It was rare to find it in someone as young as I." she said.

"Ahh..that explains it" Jack said, wondering if he should have said anything.

Sam was frozen. She couldn't move or think. Here was this young girl who practically reached into her soul, and verbalized her inner hurts, right in front of the man she could not have, or so she thought?

Right then, as if on cue, Sam's comm went off.

"Colonel, this is Dr. Keller"

Sam paused. She knew she had to get herself together. But she could barely talk. "Go ahead" was all she was able to verbalize in that instance.

"Yes, I was just wondering if Kaylia was with you, Colonel? I need to run some test" Dr. Keller stated, noticing there was a hitch in Sam's voice. Carter quickly snapped out of her frozen state, and chimed in quickly. "Kaylia is here with me, and General O'Neill."

"Can you have Kaylia come to the infirmary please?" Dr. replied.

"Is something wrong with me? I thought I was ok?" Kaylia said concerned. She didn't like visiting the infirmary much like Jack.

"Infirmary..I don't like them either" Jack chimed in, which broke the awkward moment.

Kaylia smiled.

She still could not understand why Carter felt the way she did. But she also knew it was rude to push or pry.

An airman was outside the promenade, since Kaylia didn't know her way around Atlantis yet.

Carter escorted her out, and into the care of the airmen.

"It's probably just some routine test, that's all. No need to alarm yourself" Sam said, hoping to calm the girls nerves.

"See that she gets to the infirmary" Carter said.

"Yes, Colonel" the airmen replied. Carter just stood there and watched the doors closed. She realized that Jack and her were alone now, and she was sure that Jack understood what Kaylia was speaking of.

"Sam?" He said. Knowing he needed to address "them" sooner than later.

She couldn't turn. The tears started to flow. She crossed her arms across her chest, feeling that very anguish that Kaylia spoke of.

Jack walked slowly towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey…." He said, as he slowly turned her.

And with that his famous "C'Mere" is all she needed. He held her. And she sobbed.

He held her close. He lowered his lips to ears, and whispered "It's going to ok". And without saying another word, Sam knew they both understood what Kaylia said. He just held her, not wanting to let her go. They just stood there, holding each other.

Sam's crying had come to a small wimper. She still held onto her Jack. Yes, her Jack. And yet her mind was running a mile a minute. "Dear God" she thought to herself. "How I love this man, how much more of this can I take? We still have regulations, that prevent us from being together…."

As they stood there in each other's embrace, Sam's comm went off again.

"For crying out Loud" Jack said.

"Colonel Carter, come in, this is Dr. Keller"

"Go ahead, Dr" Sam said. Slowly leaving his embrace, reluctantly.

"Would you come down to the infirmary please." The Dr. Stated.

"Is everything alright?" Sam asked concerned.

"I've ran some additional test on Kaylia. There is something you need to be aware of" she said.

"I'll be there shortly" Sam said. Although she didn't want to leave the moment that she was in, she knew she still had a ship to command.

She looked at him, and he simply said, "Go" …

But before he let her go completely from his embrace, he did something he's wanted to do, for a very long time. He lifted her chin, and slowly placed a soft kiss on them.

She stood for a moment, and smiled as he pulled away. She was shocked. Did he just kiss me? And she just stood there.

He knew her mind was processing at light speed.

"Go" He said, hoping it would break her unbelief of what just happened.

She placed her finger softly on her lips and gave him the softest brief smile.

As she left the room, she turned to him and said softly, still in shock of what had transpired.  
"See you later?"

"You sure you bethca" he said.

Ask she walked outside into the corridor; her heart couldn't beat any faster.

"Did that just happen? Did he just kiss me?" she asked herself. Her heart couldn't be more full at this moment.

As she made her way to infirmary her mind could not process what just happened. The word regulation was all she could see in her head. They never once waivered in all the years they worked together. Why did he suddenly now give in? Was there something she wasn't aware of? A change in regulations? A change in his rank?

"Colonel" Dr. Keller said.

She didn't realize that she had reached the infirmary.

"Dr" she said shaking her head as if to shake herself back into command mode.

"Are you o.k?" Dr. Keller asked seeing she was perplexed.

"Yes, yes I'm fine" Sam said, knowing Dr. Keller was a good judge of character, and that she knew she was lying, but she left it alone. And Sam was so glad she did.

I was reviewing results from Kaylias people. I came across a common thread of cerebral similarities. It seems they have a larger, temporal lobe. Their Limbic system, is much larger than ours. Which would indicate..

"High sensory ability?" Carter interrupted.

"Why Yes…" Dr Keller said.

"Kaylia told me this morning. Seems the older women of her tribe contain this ability, but it is rare on the younger ones" She explained.

"Yes…that is what alarmed me. I have only found it thus far on the older women of her tribe. But when I came across Kaylias results, they matched them of an older women." Dr. Keller stated.

"I don't think there is anything to be alarmed of" Carter said trying to reassure the Dr. Kaylia just might be someone unique her tribe.

"Was that all Dr.?" Carter asked eager to investigate the questions she had running through her mind when she arrived the infirmary.

"Yes..that was all, Colonel" Dr. Keller said.

"Are you sure you're alright, Colonel" she asked again.

"I'm fine Jen (using her first name in hopes to deter her questions). Thank you for asking" She said.

"If you need me I'll be in my office, catching up on reports" Carter said as she made her way out of the infirmary.

The kiss was not something she can easily forget. It was something she had wanted for so long, and it just happened. But why now? what had changed that he felt the freedom to kiss her.

He didn't realize he had set her mind in motion. If something had changed along the ranks, Sam Carter was going to find out. But would she find out before Jack could act on his plans?


	5. Chapter 5

The base had become extremely busy. Carter couldn't keep up with all the teams coming in and out of the gate, most of them coming in heavy under attack, and ending up in the infirmary. Jack even started to help out, seeing that they were becoming shorthanded in maneuvering the wounded. There was one team in particular that came in extremely heavy under fire. But they weren't alone, they brought back with them several people from the planet injured.

"Medical team to the gate room" an airmen yelled.

"What now?" Sam voiced. She was in the control room and was able to see the team, with these additional people from the planet that were being attacked. Jack was there too. They both had to put their personal explorations and or confusions aside, hoping Atlantis would soon settle down. They made their way down to the Gate Room.

"SG6 report" Sam said.

"Ma'm…we were ambushed. These kind people were able to get us through a cave, that brought us to the gate..if not for them Ma'm I'm not sure we would have made it out alive" The solider said.

Sam moved closer to the new visitors.

"Hello…" Sam acknowledged the people.

"It's ok…you're safe here. No one is going to hurt you" She tried to reaffirm to them.

They all stood still. No words were spoken. They all had these blank faces. Sam could only attribute that to shock.

"Get them to the infirmary, and we'll debrief in an hour" she said. The airmen escorted them to the infirmary. But before they left, one of the visitors looked back at Sam, with this blank look on her face that gave same a chill she couldn't understand. So much so Jack noticed Sam's reaction, and could see how uncomfortable she had become.

"Hey.." he said, almost placing a hand on her back, but stopped himself.

"You ok.?" He asked, with the all familiar tone in his voice, letting her know that he was truly concerned without any other gestures. That's how well they knew each other.

"Yea..i'm fine…" she said as she looked at him, knowing he knew she was lying. But at this point there was nothing he could do. He knew that she was in charge and she had to fight through whatever tiredness and other "feelings" she had. He gave her that all familiar smile and they both left the Gate room.

Everyone was settled in the infirmary. The new visitors were all situated. SG6 was in the debriefing room.

"Ma'm, when we arrived at the planet, at first we didn't see anything. But then we came upon a small area, where a small aircraft had crashed. The visitors we brought with us were trying to repair it. At first they were frightened and tried to attack us but we explained to them that were weren't there to hurt them. They gained our trust, and we tried to assist them with repairs of the aircraft. It was just a couple of hours before we were ambushed. The visitors had been on the planet for quite some time so they were able to provide us with a means of escape, Ma'm" SG6 stated.

SG6 continued their debriefing. Carter dismissed them and they headed back to their duties.

Sam sat for a while. She took a deep breathe. She was utterly exhausted. She just prayed something would give, cause there was no crash and burn for her.

While Sam was busy in the debriefing, Jack was conjuring a plan that involved Carter's quarters. He didn't want anything between them anymore. He knew Carter would never act on her emotions knowing the regulations were still in place. So he planned away. Everything was set. Now to get Carter to her quarters was another story. With Atlantis being on the front line as of late, she had taken up in her office, for sleep. Jack made his way to find her.

Once he made it to the debriefing room, he could see a tall blond sitting with her head in her hands. He slowly walking towards her.

"Hey" Jack said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Sam jumped. She had dozed off right in the debriefing room.

"Hey" she said back startled by his approach.

"You ok?" He asked, already knowing the answer to that question. Her face was pale, and her eyes were dark and heavy. He knew she wasn't sleeping or eating.

"When's the last time you ate something, or slept for that matter?" he asked her, knowing all too well the times she would skip on meals when she would get to involved in something.

"Sir…I'm fine really…it's just been a long several days…" she said, sounding not too convincing.

"Carter….that wasn't an answer" he said. He knew she probably couldn't even remember when she ate last.

"Sir really, I have a power bar, in my office, I'll be fine" she said.

"Power bar, really Carter" he said, with that look of 'are you kidding me'.

She smiled. Even in her exhaustion, she can give that mega million smile that would light his heart up.

They had a brief moment, before Mitchell's entrance broke the silence.

"General" he said. "Hey Mitchell…" Jack quickly said to diffuse any suspicions.

"perfect timing…Hey you think you can hold down the fort, while I make Carter eat something" Jack said.

It annoyed her that Jack just asked Mitchell without asking her first, but she knew he was right; all the base needed was for her to pass out from starvation on top of exhaustion.

He looked at them both.

"Go..I got this" Mitchell responded. He too had seen how Carter was pushing herself way too hard. The two men nodded and it was settled. Sam knew that Jack never doubted her leadership abilities, but she also knew she was going to crash and burn if she didn't take heed to his warning.

Jack looked down to her and smiled.

"Shall we go?" he asked. He had his hands in his pocket, and pushed out his elbow so Sam could link her arm with his.

She didn't shy away even with Mitchell there. He smiled at both of them admiring them so deeply for the sacrifices they'd make to save earth, so many times, including sacrificing their love for each other.

They made their way down the hallway only for Sam to realize the Commissary was the other way.

"Ahh..Jack…" she said softly, using his first name only when they were alone.

"The commissary is the other way" she said, and she pointed to the other direction.

"I know" he said, and continued to look straight ahead, but not before Sam could see a smile she knew all too well.

"What is he doing?" she said to herself. But she was too tired to think anymore of it. She leaned her head against his shoulder and just let him lead her to wherever he was going. She loved this man and trusted him with her life. He could feel her leaning closer into him. His heart could explode with the love he had for this women.

They finally reached a door. It was her door. She looked at him, but didn't say a word.

"I need you to do something for me" he asked.

She just nodded.

"Can you close your eye" he said. Without any hesitation, she did just that. She could hear the doors open, in front of her. He held her arm and slowly guided her into her room. Her heart was pacing. What could he possibly have planned in the middle of all the chaos Atlantis was under?

He moved away from her, and watched her with her eyes closed. "God she was beautiful" he said to himself. He leaned in slowly and reached her eyes with his lips. He let them brush her earlobe, and he can feel her body generating a heat from within. "Open your eyes" He said, Open your eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Sam opened her eyes, what she saw… she was in awe. The room was set to ambient lighting. There were small votives on the floor one on each side, leading to the promenade.

"Jack" she could barely get out his name. Her tears were welling up in her eyes. What was he doing? When did he find the time to do it? The questions, starting taking over her mind.

"Hey" he said, as he touched her chin, with his thumb, and forefinger.

"No thinking …" he knew her mind was spinning wheels.

He led her down the candle-lit aisle he had created. As he led her to the promenade she can see a small table for two. Candles were lit, and soft music was playing.

She fought back tears, but she lost that battle. One by one the tears fell down her face.

"Jack…this is..how did you?" is all she could get out. She was utterly surprised.

He led her to the table, pulled out her chair, and she sat. He had that satisfied grin on his face, knowing his surprise worked.

He pushed her chair in, and then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

"You've been going a mile a minute Sam, I just wanted to do something special for you." He said.

"Jack…this is amazing. Thank you" she said. A bottle of wine was sitting on the table, he grabbed it and popped the cork. He poured themselves a glass. She went to grab, it and he stopped it.

"Nope not yet" he said.

He looked down, so she can follow his gaze, to a piece of paper, on her dinner plate rolled up into a scroll, with a ribbon on it.

"What's this?" she asked, lifting the piece of paper from the dinner plate.

"I don't know, why don't you open it?" he said. This was it. He knew there was no going back. He just hoped his feelings, were reciprocal. The kiss they exchanged, made him pretty sure they were. But this sealed the deal.

Sam slowly removed the ribbon and unscrolled the paper. She began to read, she was a fast reader, so he can see, that she was trying to process what she was reading . She looked up at him, with a face of shock, and uncertainty.

"Jack…is this…are you telling me, you've retired?" she asked.

And with his clever vernacular he answered back, "Ya sure ya betcha" grinning that amazing grin he always gave her.

"Jack..I…I…." she didn't know what to say.

With that, he lifted his glass, and walked towards her. He knelt down, with the glass in his hands, and said "Sam..i have loved you since the moment you walked into the briefing room. We have been through hell and back, (he was nervous, since he was never good at this kind of stuff, he had actually written it out and memorized it) I can't go on anymore, ignoring what I feel for you. I love you Colonel Samantha Carter". He leaned up to her and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

Sam was frozen. Was this really happening? Was the moment she had been waiting for, for so long happening before her eyes. Could she actually love this man publicly now, hold him, touch him, make love to him, with nothing in there way?

She just looked at him, and he was just staring at her.

"Sam say something…you know the knees are kind of getting old" he said, trying to break the awkward silence.

She leaned to him, and kissed, him, but the kiss was deep, and sensual. He wanted to take things slow, so he moved back, "I love you too Jack..I always have". He was smiling so hard, and his heart was in his throat. Could that be a tear, that General Jack O'Neill was shedding?

He stood slowly, since his knees weren't the youngest anymore, he placed the wine back on the table, and pulled Sam to her feet. He held her face in his hands, and starred into her eyes.

He started on her eyes, he placed a soft kiss on each of them, then he placed a kiss on the tip of her nose, then one on each cheek, and then he reached her lips. It started off soft and gentle, but the pent of tension between them, took over. The kiss became sensual, hard and desperate. Jack knew he had to slow it down, he still had so much more planned, but at the rate they were going it would end it all quick. He pulled away from her mouth, and he can tell she didn't want to stop.

He leaned his forehead on hers. He can feel her heart beating, through a small vein. He loved that he can do that to her. But he also knew if she didn't eat something, with the plans he had, she wouldn't last the night.

"How bout we sit, and enjoy this dinner…You do need to eat something" he said. He could see the fire in her eyes. She wasn't hungry for food at all.

She took a deep breathe, and knew he was right. So she sat, and let him push her seat in.

They sat and ate. The dinner was delicious. He enjoyed watching her eat. He can tell she was enjoying it too. Her vocal moans expressed as much.

No words were spoken while they ate. They would look at each other with a fire in their eyes that they've never seen. They finished eating. He walked towards her, and stretched out his hand. She took it with no reservations. She had butterflies in her stomach. Could this be the moment she was waiting for, for so long. She was nervous. She was not too sexually experienced, but she also trusted him with her life. He led, her back into the room, placing himself behind her, with his arms wrapped around her waist. He had snuck his thumbs under her shirt, and gentle rubbed her skin. Sam almost jumped. The feel of him touching her that way sent sensations all over her body. She leaned her head back into his shoulder.

"Jack" she whispered.

"Shhhhh…. " he said, as he led her to her bathroom.

When they reached the door, it was a beautiful site. Her bathroom was filled with rose petals.

He had traced the tub with more candles. Soft music, played, and the ambient there, matched the room.

The tears welled up in her eyes again. He turned her to face him.

"I love you Sam" he said. And with that he began to kiss her, softly. She pushed into him, kissing him more intently. He pulled away for a brief moment.

"Sam…I need to know, is this what you want…cause there's no turning back after this" He needed to know, no, hear that she was in agreement, that she wanted it just as bad as he did.

"I'm yours Jack…ALWAYS" she said. And with that, he kissed her hard. He pulled off her shirt, and there she stood. There was one garment between the breasts he had dreamt about, between them.

He continued to kiss her, and unsnapped her bra, in his stealth manner. He slowly pulled of her bra, one strap at a time, to behold the beauty of Sam. He leaned down and suckled one breast, Sam gasped at the feeling. He massaged them, and was in awe of their beauty. They were more beautiful than he had imagined. He slowly made his way down to her trousers; he unbuckled her belt, then her zipper, and then pulled them down to her ankles. He untied her boots, and removed them, so she can come out of her pants, as well as any other garments in his way. And there she was. She stood naked before him.

Sam just stood there. She blushed, he can tell she was nervous. He took her hand, and led her to the tub. He led her into it and she slowly slid into the warm water. She smiled softly to him, hoping he liked what he saw.

"My turn" he said. Sam let out a giggle.

"No giggling" he said, which made her giggle more.

He undressed himself. Piece by piece allowing her to enjoy the moment as much as he did her.

He pulled his trousers off only for her to see his full form. She almost gasped. She figured he was well endowed but, it shocked her. She tried to hide it from him, so she just gazed at his eyes, as he made his way into the tub with her.

Was this really happening? Was her Jack, the man she loved for so long, was he naked in front of her, were they about to do the very thing she had dreamed of for so long?

He stepped into the tub, and sat behind her. She leaned into him, and let out a sigh. At first they just sat. He had chocolate covered strawberries, sitting on the side of the tub, and he fed her. As she sucked the fruit, from his finger, it was setting him off. Sam could feel him harden behind her. She was anxious, nervous, all at the same time. He knew he needed to get her to relax, so as she finished off the fruit, he began to massage her neck, then her shoulders, and then down to her breast, then back up again. He can hear her groans of approval, so he continued his touches, learning her body. By the intensity of each touch he knew, what her weak spots were, and he made a mental note of every one. He could feel her relax more and more against it. So he decided to explore further. He would kiss her ear, and whisper words into it. He sucked her earlobe, which made her gasp in ecstasy. His hands moved back to her breast. He rubbed, and pinched her nipples. She had been with men, but no man had every spent this much time with her body. She was in awe. With one hand on one breast, the other hand ran down to her belly button, and then slid further down to between her thighs. Sam tensed quickly. It had been so long, she didn't know how to react.

"Shhhh….I want to touch every part of your body Sam" he said. "Do you trust me?" he asked. He sensed her apprehension.

She turned her head towards her shoulder to face him. She grabbed his head, and pulled it to him so she can embrace his lips with hers. That was enough affirmation, as they kissed, he swiftly slid in a finger into her. He can see how tense she was, so he was slow, and affectionate in every attempt he tried. She relaxed, which allowed him to enter another finger, by this time she was breathing heavy. She let go of his hand and faced forward. But now she had both hands wrapped behind her, around his head.

"God Jack" she said. He began to thrust his fingers deeper, reaching her G spot. He was arousing her. Seeing her react that way, made him grin. To see that he was the cause of her in ecstasy made his heart smile. He knew she needed this. The tension of the past several weeks, month, years, she had built up, needed to be released, and this was just the start.

She began to thrust against his fingers, he could tell she was close. So he reached deeper and deeper. Before long Sam, let out a scream of passion, that was laced with his name "JACCCCk"…..and with that she had peaked. He slowly removed his fingers and let her come down slowly. He knew she was already exhausted, and wasn't sure if she had the strength to pursue his entire plan, but that was fine with him. Too see her in that ecstasy, was enough for him. Making her happy was his number 1 priority. He came up to her breast, and slowly rubbed them. She was still in a high euphoria so she shivered when he rubbed her nipples with his calloused thumbs. He then just held her. He was holding his Sam. His Sam. At one point he thought he was dreaming, but he realized no, he was holding the love of his life.

"Jack" she said softly.

"Yea" he said, still holding her, kissing her shoulders.

"I love you" she said. He leaned into her ear and whispered back "I love you Sam".

They sat like that for awhile, but the water was getting cool, and it wasn't the biggest tub.

He could tell Sam, was completely relaxed, at one point he wondered if she had dozed off on him. He didn't care. He could have stayed that way forever. But he knees protested.

"Hey" he called to her.

"Hmmmm" was all she could say audibly. He almost chuckled at how relaxed she was.

"How bout we get out of here, and get you to bed" he said.

"Ok" is all she was able to say.

She got up first, since she was leaning against him, and then he followed. He helped her out, and there she should stood. He could never get enough of her naked body.

He pulled a towel from the side, and began to dry her, paying close attention to every detail of her body. He so wanted to grab her and make love to her but he knew he needed to pace himself. He dried himself off quickly, and walked her to the bedroom. As she made her way, she started to tense again. She remembered how well-endowed he was, and she wondered was she prepared for this. He had his hand on her shoulders, and can sense it.

"Hey…" he said, and turned her to face him.

"I'm not going to do anything you're not ready for" He said.

She looked at him. OH how she loved him. She starred into his eyes. She wrapped her arms around him. Both towels falling to the floor.

"I never thought this would happen." She said fighting back the tears. "You here, in my arms," she said.

"Naked" he interrupted her. She laughed into his chest. He always had the knack of breaking the awkwardness of the moment.

"yea..that too" she said.

"C'mon…let's get you to bed" he said as he took her hand and stood her at the edge of the bed.

She leaned back, and he laid beside her and held her. He had already turned down the bed, so he leaned down, grab the blanket and covered them both, he can tell she was cold.

They just laid there in each other's arms. Never knowing, if this would ever happen, and yet it was.

He can feel wetness on his chest. It what Sam's tears.

"Hey," he lifted her chin to look into her eyes.

"No crying…" he said as he wiped the tears from her face.

"I never..i….would dream of this….but never thought it would" she said, softly..

"So you dreamt of me huh" he said, keeping it light.

She smiled into his chest.

"And you didn't?" she asked.

"Sam…you took every part of my dreams" he said. She giggled more into his chest.

"Hey …I said no giggling" he said, but Sam couldn't stop. He took this moment, to really make her laugh. He began to tickle her. Sam was laughing so hard, he'd never heard her laugh like that. He started laughing along with her. They were like teenagers. He pulled her close to him, and let her catch her breathe. She leaned into him and began to kiss him, hard, and deep. Their tongues thrusting into each other again and again. Jack knew he couldn't last long, so he decided to move forward. He flipped her to her back, and was on top of her. She wasn't as relaxed as she was in the tub, so he knew he still had some work to do. He started with her breast, one by one he engulfed his mouth with them, setting off a moan from Sam, confirming her permission. He then proceeded to her belly button, Sam suddenly realized what Jack was about to do. She tightened.

"Jack" she said, but this time it wasn't soft, it was more of a "not sure" tone.

He came back to reach her face.

"Jack" she was embarrassed, but she had never had a man do what Jack was about to do. She didn't know how she would handle it.

"I've…never…no one's ever…." She said softly, embarrassed and blushing.

"Hey….you trust me, right" he said.

"Of course I trust you, with my life" she said. He smiled wide.

"Then let me taste you Samantha" he said, stating her full name. She looked into his eyes, leaned up and kissed him letting him know she approved.

He made his way back to her breast, then to her belly button. He started with her thighs, he wouldn't move forward till he can feel her relaxing. When he felt her relax, he began with his fingers, stroking her softly, but intently.

"God Jack" she said. She was still sensitive, from previous.

"Shhhh" he said smiling into her inner core. With that, he placed his hands under buttocks, and slowly entered his tongue into her inner core. Sam gasped for air. Never had she felt this type of ecstasy, she didn't know how to handle it. He began to thrust his tongue back and forth, stroking her most sensitive folds. Sam moaned and moaned, letting Jack know he was making her come. He made love to her inner core with his tongue and it didn't take long for Sam, to reach a state of euphoria she had never ever reached. With one final thrust of his tongue Sam screamed his name, and fell limp back on the bed. She had passed out.

He made his way back to her face.

"Sam…Sam…" he tapped her face softly.

"Hmmm…" she barely responded back.

Jack laughed internally. He had just been the first to take Sam to another plateau of pleasure, and he was so proud.

He slowly got up and made his way to the bathroom. He rinsed his mouth, and slid back into bed with her. At this moment it was not about pleasuring himself, it was all about a certain blonde by the name of Samantha Carter, and he had completed a successful stealth mission.

He held her close, but before she fell completely asleep, she voiced the four words he could never tire of hearing "I love you Jack." With that he pulled her tighter to him.

"I love you Sam…always" he said, and they both dozed off to sleep.

_**Several hours later back at the Gate**_

Sheppard knew Sam needed time to rest. So he handled the entire afternoon the best he could. He visited the infirmary to see how the newest guests were doing.

"Hey" he walked to Dr. Keller. "So how they making out? he asked.

"Not the kindest bunch but, they seem to be fine" he said. He looked over at one, and they stared at him intently.

"Do you seem them as a threat, Dr" he said trying to assess the situation.

"No…but Kaylia doesn't trust them at all…she's been driving me crazy, needing to speak to the Colonel, but I don't want to disturb her. She's been running on empty, she's needs the rest."

"What is Kaylia say?" Sheppard stated with concern.

"She won't say. She says she only wants to speak to Carter". I was able to distract her for the time being, seems she loves to cook. Found something for her to do in the Commissary". Dr. Keller said.

"Besides, the General would kill me." Dr. Keller suddenly realized she should not have voiced the last sentence.

"What do you mean kill me?" Sheppard asked, very curious as to her last statement.

"Ahhh….I need to get back to my patients…" She said…trying to avoid the question.

"He's up to something isn't he" he asked. He knew he wouldn't have just showed up at Atlantis, without a reason, especially when it came to Carter.

"I can't say" she immediately said.

"What I can say is Colonel Carter will be very happy" she said.

Without saying anymore, Sheppard looked at her and smiled. If he only knew that Dr. Keller was a huge part of helping Jack get everything together. Jack had become a part of the team, while at Atlantis and was filled in on the mission that ended them up in the underground cave. Although he and Dr's weren't something he never thought he'd converse with let alone confide in, he did. In that she told him how Sam had mentioned a General, while down in the underground mine, and when she saw him come through the gate and Sam's reaction, she knew he was the one she was talking about.

"Well…as long as she's happy" Sheppard replied. "She deserves it….they both do" he stated as he walked away. He turned and smiled to Dr. Keller. Sheppard wasn't stupid but he also knew not to pry.

He walked away and headed back to the gate making sure no one would interrupt Carter, unless it was a major emergency.

_**Back in Sam's Bedroom …**_

Sam woke up. But she felt someone holding her. She thought she had this amazing dream, but suddenly realized she was not dreaming. She turned to face him, and there he was. General Jack O'Neill, in her bed. He was fast asleep. She leaned up against her elbow and traced the scars on his face, knowing the origin of almost every single one. She didn't realize that he was awake, and smiling.

"Hi there" he said.

"Hey" she said.

"Enjoying the view?" he asked.

"Every part of it" she said.

"Oh really" he said back, getting up and grabbing her and flipping her to her back. She giggled.

He just starred at her. Still in shock, he was in bed with Sam Carter. His Sam.

"Soo..he said, as he placed soft kissed on her face. "So" she said back.

"that was amazing" she said quickly. She wanted to re-affirm to him she totally approved.

"I've never…re..I've" she couldn't even say it.

"I'm glad I could be of assistance" he said. She giggled into his arm, that was beside her face.

She looked back at him, into his eyes.

"But if I recall, someone didn't get to experience the same euphoria" she said, making him know that she was well aware of how he solely pleasured her. She slid her hand between them, to grab his life line to his and her sexual being.

He gasped. "Carter if you keep that up, I'm going to explode" he said.

She gave him a grin, but he had never seen this type of grin from her before. It was full of fire, and lust, that made him see a new side of Sam he'd never seen.

She kissed him deeply and she probed him, and pulled. Jack had stamina but he wasn't going to hold out for much longer.

But before he could say another word, Sam whispered in his ear, "Make love to me Jack…make love to me" she said.

He pulled away from her. Her eyes were dark with want and need. Still concerned for her, he asked again, "Are you sure Sam, we can wait" he said. Knowing for him, it would mean, he'd have to relieve himself if her answer was a no.

But before he could think it any further Sam pulled him towards her and began to kiss, hard, and deep, with a want he'd never seen.

He positioned himself over her, but first, stroked her inner core, to make sure she was wet enough for his entrance, he can sense she was ready, and placed himself right at her entrance. Without realizing Sam tensed, she wanted him but also knew that it may be uncomfortable at first, now seeing his true size. But as soon as she tensed, she relaxed knowing the man she loved was about to make sweet love to her. He leaned in and slowly and entered her. Sam gasped. He knew he needed to give her time to adjust to his size and he did. He kissed her intently. He went deeper, she gasped again. She wrapped her legs around him, hoping the angle would help his entrance and it did. By this time Jack was close, he wrapped his arms under her, and thrust himself completely inside her. Sam let out a loud groan. It was a groan of pain and pleasure at the same time. He quickly looked to her face, hoping it would subside quickly and it did. She looked back at him with a smile, and leaned up into him to confirm she was ok, with a kiss. He started to thrust in and out of her. Sam had adjusted to him, and began to equal his stride. Jack was close so he knew this wasn't going to be a long drawn out action. He quickened his thrust one after the other. Sam looked into his eyes. They were black with want, need, love and it excited her. Jack increased his movements, and was close. Thrust after thrust Jack was closer to his euphoria. Sam screamed his name with approval. With one final thrust Jack exploded inside her. Spilling his seed, into her, screaming her name. The view of his face, knowing that Jack had just made love to her was priceless to her. She wanted to remember it for the rest of her life. He fell on top of her, breathing heavy, and short. She held him close. She can feel their heart beats almost in sync. She had sex before, but this, this wasn't sex, this was love, she had just made love to the man she'd love for so many years. She could stay like this forever, but she knew eventually his body weight would be too much to handle. Without saying a word, it was as if he was in her head, he leaned off her, and lay beside her, pulling her towards him.

"I love you Sam" he said, breathing heavy still in a state of euphoria.

"I love you Jack" she said back. They held each other tight close. The next several hours, were spent making exotic amazing love to each other. Exploring each other's body, every inch and every spot. They last attempt was quick and sloppy, but they didn't care, they collapsed on the bed, engulfed in each others arms.


	7. Chapter 7

They both passed out from exhaustion only to be interrupted by a com link.

Jack heard it but Sam was still on a euphoric high.

"Sam….Sam…here" he said as he handed her the comm piece.

"Huh" she said.. "You're being paged" he said.

"Oh…." She said grabbing the comm…."Colonel Carter here! Go ahead" she said, trying to steady her breathing.

"Sorry to interrupt Colonel Carter, but it's Kaylia…she insisting on seeing you. I've held her off all afternoon, but now…" Dr. Keller knew Carter needed time alone, since she was burning the wick at both ends, but Kaylia's persistent was becoming a concern to her. She had stormed out the infrimary, and the Dr. had sent an Airmen to find her. She hated interrupting the Colonel but she knew she had too.

"No..no it's ok…I"ll be right there" Sam said.

"Thank you Colonel" she said. Sam didn't realize the time. Jack and she had spent the entire afternoon in bed. She couldn't be more grateful for her team. She knew Mitchell had things under control, and it seemed that the excitement was dying down at the gate, for if anything urgent would of happened, her comm would of gone off a long time ago. For that she was grateful.

She rolled over back to Jack, and cuddled for a second.

"I can stay like this forever" she said. He held her tight.

He kissed her forehead, and didn't say a word, he just grinned. He was elated, and still in euphoria.

Sam slowly got up, and planted her feet on the floor. He got up beside her, and kissed her cheek.

"I'll be right here when you get back" he said.

She looked at him intently. "You better be" she said, and with that she kissed him sensually.

Sam got off the bed, only to realize, the effects of passionate love making. She was sore. And he can tell. He chuckled.

"Problem, Colonel?" he asked, seeing she winced, when she got up.

She smiled at him. He knew he was enjoying the moment.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" she said back. Gathering her things, before she showered.

"Who, me? Seeing a gorgeous women, in front of me, naked, obviously suffering the after effects of love making, oh and did I mention naked? Nope, I don't know what you're talking about?" he said, laughing under his breath.

She stood for a second and just glared at him. She smiled, and ran into the shower, knowing she needed to get to Dr. Keller.

Jack sat in bed. He stretched and placed his hands behind his head. He had this salacious grin on his face, and softly said "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED".

Sam's shower was quick. She dressed and tied her boots, and grabbed her comm.

She looked at the bed and could not wipe off the grin on her face. She maybe sore, but she'd take this kind of sore, any day, if it involved a certain man by the name of Jack O'Neill.

She leaned down and kissed him softly.

"See you later?" she asked, not assuming anything.

"Wild horses, Sam, Wild horses" he said.

She chuckled beneath her breathe, and headed out. Jack was hers, always and forever. She never thought this day, would come and yet it did. Nothing can take away the high she was currently on, oh so she thought.

She was walking through the hallways, making her way to the infirmary to speak to Dr. Keller, when she saw a limp body in the corner corridor.

It was Kaylia, crunched in a corner, shaking in fear. She ran to her.

"Kaylia…what..what happened, what are you doing here?" she quickly asked her.

"I need to find you Sam. You needed to know. I need to" Kaylia couldn't get another word out. The pain was to great. She sat holding her head.

"It is so strong…The hate, the want to hurt, the destruction" she said as she wrapped her arms around her head.

"Let's get you to the infirmary" Sam said, as she began to lift the young girl.

"No…no…I can't, please… I need to get away, far….too close, there " she said, still in obvious pain. Sam confused from her statement. She didn't understand what was happening. She did remember that Kaylia had heightened sensory abilities.

"Shh…Ok..it's ok" Sam said.

Sam grabbed her and headed to her quarters. Only hoping that Jack was decent.

She reached for her Comm. "Colonel Carter, to Dr. Keller"

"Go ahead Colonel" Dr. Keller replied.

"I need you to report to my quarters, immediately please. Also the visitors, where are they now?" Carter immediately asked. If these visitors were a threat, Sam had to get them under ASAP.

"They are here. I was just about to get them settled" Dr. Keller said. One of the visitors looked at her intently, over hearing her conversation.

"Dr. Keller, listen to me carefully. I need you to post security to them immediately, they do not leave the infirmary till I have a full detail on them, do you understand" Carter said.

Dr. Keller was taken back. They had shown no signs of hostility to them, so she wasn't sure why the Colonel was acting this way. But she also knew she was given an order.

"Understood Colonel." Dr. Keller said. She went to the airmen in the hallway, and explained the situation. They immediately made their way into the infirmary, and gathered close to the visitors.

For the first time they spoke.

"Are we prisoners." The male asked. His face grew angrier by the second.

"We need you to just sit here for a moment. We will find you quarters where you can rest but for now, you can not leave the infirmary" Dr. Keller stated.

The man was livid. But did not budge. The Air men moved closer, in case he had any plans of retaliating.

Dr. Keller looked back, and got the same chill Sam did when they first arrived. Something was off, but she wasn't sure what.

She grabbed her medical bag, and made her way to the Colonels quarters.

_**Back at Sam's Room**_

Jack was up, tiding up the room. Their acts of love making had the room in shambles. He heard the door open. "You couldn't get enough of me could ya" he said, not realizing Sam wasn't alone.

"Ahh..Jack" Sam said, holding Kaylia in her arms.

"Doh," he quickly said, having a foot in mouth moment. They locked eyes for a moment, realizing that was an awkward moment, but immediately switched to Kaylia.

"What happened?" he asked as he walked towards Sam to grab Kaylia.

"Hey kiddo" he said.

"Jack…they are evil. They want to hurt and destroy you" Kaylia said. He placed her on the small couch by the bed. He didn't want to place her on the bed. He knew sheets needed to be changed.

Kaylia sat up. She was feeling better.

"It's ok..i feel better now" she said.

"It was overwhelming Sam…what I felt from them…They deceive you" she said.

"They are not who they seem to be" Kaylia said.

"Carter to Mitchell" Sam said. She snapped into Colonel mode.

"Mitchell here"

"We have a situation. I need you to meet me in my quarters, immediately" Carter said.

"Colonel?" he asked. It took him a back. Why would Carter want him to meet her in his quarters.

"I have Kaylia here, and she seems to have believe our new visitors are not who they say they are" Carter cleared the air.

"Ah…I'm on my way" Mitchelle said.

What could this young girl possibly know about these new visitors? She hadn't even come from the same planet. Who or what could they possibly be? Something he knew Colonel Carter would find out one way or the other.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Jack situated Kayla on the couch. The girl was trembling. Sam sat next to her. Jack grabbed a blanket from Sam's closet and covered her.

"Better?" Sam asked. Kaylia nodded.

"Sam…those people….they…they want you to believe they are someone they are not. They are angry and full of hate." Kaylia said, while another chill took over her.

"Shhh…it's ok….you're safe here" Sam said trying to reassure the girl.

"No Sam…we are not safe. Not till you return those people from which they came" Kaylia stated, but firmly.

"Kaylia…they have shown no signs of aggression towards us. They helped our people escape an attack" Sam said trying to understand why Kaylia was sensing what she was.

Just then Sam's door, chimed. It was Sheppard.

"Come in" Sam said. Her voice activated the doors and they opened. Sheppard looked around quickly.

"General" He immediately said. He wasn't expecting to see him there, but then he realized why Dr. Keller had been so secretive. He tried not to let it show, and just proceeded towards Sam.

"Sheppard…seems we might have a situation on our hands" Jack said, immediately putting Sheppard's attention on the current and not letting him linger as he saw him survey Sam's room.

"Sam…I don't know what it is. But just as I sensed the inner turmoil, you…you" Kaylia paused. She looked at Sam, and then at Jack. Jack just looked at her. "What?" he said. Kaylia placed her hand on Sam's heart.

"Sam…" she said, "you're so happy Sam…I can…I can…." Kaylia said, grabbing Sam's hand.

Sam suddenly realized Kaylia was sensing her "hidden high" that she was still on from the previous events.

Sam immediately tried to bring the conversation back to the situation at hand.

"Kaylia..you say they deceive us….how…how do they deceive us?"

Sheppard at this point, was confused, but he played along. He looked at Jack, and they both gave that face of "I don't know" but didn't say a word.

"I don't know Sam….but you need to go back to the planet…." Kaylia stressed.

"You must go back….the answers are there…" Kaylia said.

"Colonel I can have a team ready in 10" Sheppard immediately stated.

"Not so quick Sheppard. These people were firing at our teams. Why?" Sam said, wondering to herself.

"What if they weren't firing at you, but at the people you brought back with you?" Kaylia stated quite inquisitively.

Sam paused. She looked at Jack.

"Kids got a point…Sam" Jack said not realizing he used her first name in front of Sheppard.

"I want a MALP sent through first. See if we can make contact with them that way. Once we can confirm safe passage through the gate, take SG 6 &amp; 7 with you. Report back to me as soon as you can" Sam immediately ordered.

"Understood" Sheppard said as he left her room.

"I'm sorry Sam..I never meant to cause trouble, or interrupt your time with Jack. It's just it was so strong, I was so scared" Kaylia said.

"Shh..it's ok….You possibly prevented a foothold situation, saving all our lives" Sam reassured her.

Kaylia smiled back at her.

Sam stood and pressed her Comm.

"Dr. Keller. Come in" she said.

"Dr. Keller here"

"Please have the Airmen, escort our visitors to our holding quarters. I want guards posted at their door" Sam said.

"Understood" Dr. Keller stated.

The visitors watched Dr. Keller walk over to the Airmen. They can tell they were becoming suspicious but how, they did not understand.

Dr. Keller made her way to them. "Hello, please follow these gentlemen. They will be taking you to our holding facility till we can better accommodate you" Dr. Keller stated trying to keep the conversation light without alerting them.

One visitor stood. The airmen immediately pointed their weapon towards them.

"We are not here to hurt you. You saved our lives. We are not sure why we are being treated this way" he said.

"you are not being treated in any way" Dr. Keller tried to relay to the visitor. Although she was lying, she tried to hide her distrust of these visitors as best she can.

"We are just trying to keep order on our facility. We will let you know as soon as we can accommodate you and your people" She said.

The visitor just looked at her. He made Dr. Keller very uncomfortable. She moved away from them, and let the Airmen lead them to the holding quarters. Something was definitely up with these people, and Dr. Keller had the feeling it wasn't good.

**Several Days later …..Back at the Gate**

It took several days to get a lock on the planet. It was almost as if someone had deliberately locked out the coordinates. But it was not match for Carter. She was able to crack the code. The MALP had been sent through.

Several days had passed. Carter wasn't sure if the gate was being monitored or not, or if the people were even still on the planet, until the MALP came under fire. Sheppard yelled through the comm in hopes they would hear him before the MALP was destroyed. Suddenly the firing stopped.

"Please we mean you no harm. We would like to come back and talk." Sheppard stating hoping he would get a response.

Suddenly a voice came from the distance. "Return our prisoners".

"Prisoners?" Sheppard asked. Looking at Carter, confused.

"Yes, prisoners. You are harboring escaped prisoners." The voice rang out.

Carter made a gesture of muting the Comm.

"We don't know who's lying her. I just think we need to try to see if they'll at least meet with us, before we go any further" She said.

By this time, a certain young girl, had made her way into the control room. She listened as Carter and Sheppard tried to strategize. Jack just stood there and let Carter think. He always loved watching the wheels in her head spin. From the corner of his eye, he could see Kaylia hiding behind a panel. She was small and thin, so it didn't take much to hide her physique. In his own stealthy way, he made his way to her area.

Kaylia was so in tune with trying to make out what Sam and Sheppard were saying she didn't even see Jack move closer to her.

"What you doin'?" he asked.

The young girl was startled. "Jack…I..ah…I" kaylia was at a loss for words for she knew she was not allowed in that area.

Jack knew the girl was curious, and that she needed to know what was happening, so he brought her out of hiding and to his side.

"It's ok. You can stay as long as you don't interfere" he said.

"I won't…." she replied, and gave him a slight grin.

"If we can get them to let us through the gate to talk, maybe we can figure out if what Kaylia is saying is true?" Sheppard said.

Before Carter could get a word out, Kaylia responded forcefully.

"It is true. I am not lying" she said.

Carter was shocked to hear her voice in the control room.

"So much for not interfering" Jack said.

"Kaylia…what are you doing here? Ja—Sir (remembering there was still protocol she needed to follow) she shouldn't be here" she said, looking at Jack with that all familiar face of "you know better"!

"Hey…she, came here on her own. I just found her" He said to his defense.

"Airmen, please escort Kaylia back to her quarters" Carter immediately stated.

"Please..no…Sam, please let me stay. The only way you are going to gain the trust of the people on that planet is by letting them know you have someone "ME" who can sense the visitors are not to be trusted. Let me go with Sheppard, and show them." Kaylia stated.

Carter had grown fond of Kaylia and couldn't think of sending her through that gate to the unknown of these people.

"Absolutely not, Kaylia. We don't even know if these people are going to fire at us the minute we walk through that gate" She said strongly, as a mother would to her child, who was putting themselves in danger.

"Please Sam….We know you are a women of risk….that is why you were and still are revered amongst my people" Kaylia said hoping to gain Sam's approval.

"Kaylia…" Sam was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Carter….a moment?" Jack said, shifting his head to the side, hinting to discuss the matter further but just the two of them.

Carter walked towards Jack, wondering what he could possibly say that could make Kaylia going through that gate an option.

Jack crossed his arms against his chest.

"Jack" Sam said softly. "You can't expect to let this girl, walked through that gate. Knowing what she's been through"

"Carter.. I totally agree with you. But all we have to go on is what Kaylia has told us. If she goes with Sheppard and the team, she is the only one that will be able to tell if they are lying or telling the truth. Hell, she just sat next to you and knew that inner "turmoil" (as he raised his fingers in the air, to create fake quotes) was gone. The girl practically knew what we were doing that night….." Jack said, with a small grin on his face knowing he was the one to remove the turmoil, and he was quite happy about it. He drifted for a moment thinking of that night.

"Jack…" Sam paused. Bringing him back to the present.

She knew he was right, but she still had fears of what this girl can endure, especially after what she had already been through. She looked at Jack, took a deep breathe, and where she wanted to lean in and kiss him for always having that way of bringing light to the table, when no other options were available. She refrained from doing so, but she did place her hand on his arms, that were still folded, and gave him a gentle squeeze.

She returned to the Control Room. Sheppard had gotten nowhere over the comm on the MALP with the people of the planet.

Carter chimed in. "If you please….regarding the "prisoners" as you call them, if you would allow us safe passage through the gate, we would just like to discuss a matter that has come up as of late, that we believe would concern you. That is all we ask" She said.

"How do we know you will not harm us. You killed some of our men?" they stated.

"Your men were shooting at us. We had to defend ourselves" she replied back.

"Only because you were allowing our prisoners to escape.." they stated, with anger in their voice.

Carter again gestured to mute the comm.

"Kaylia…can you sense anything from here….anything" Carter asked in hopes that she did not have to send the girl through the gate.

"I'm sorry Sam..I must be in close proximity to sense the individual" Kaylia said.

Carter nodded. "Please all we ask is to meet, you have our word that we will not harm any of you, as long as we have yours" Carter said, hoping to get through to these people.

"When our people met, they stated that they were prisoners, but that you were holding them captive against their will. We were only trying to do what was right."Carter said.

A brief pause came over the Comm. They all just stood there hoping it meant they'd at least meet.

"Fine…we will meet. The gate is guarded. So any attempts to sabotage the meet will be thwarted." They said.

"Thank you. We will be sending a team through" Carter said. She didn't want to mention Kaylia. If Kaylia was going to read/sense them, she did not want them prepared.

"Ok..let's head out. Sheppard, I want you to guard Kaylia. Any sense of retaliation I want Kaylia back through that gate." Carter said showing concern.

"Understood." Sheppard knew Carter had grown close to this girl.

"Kaylia….i need you to listen to me" She knelt down to the girl, and placed her hands on her arms. "This could be dangerous. So I need you to be focused and aware. You will sense danger before any of them can, so I need you to relay anything you sense to Colonel Sheppard." She said, looking intently at the girl.

"Sam..I'll be ok…please don't….." suddenly Kaylia paused. She looked at Sam, and just stared at her. She then looked up at Jack.

"Kaylia…are you all right?" Sam asked as she looked up at Jack wondering if this was the right decision.

Kaylia smiled. "I'm fine Sam…I'm fine….Yes, I promise to be careful. I will not leave She—" "John…you can call me John" Sheppard interrupted. "I will not leave Johns side" she said.

"Sam please don't worry. I need to do this. You've done so much for us already. Please let me do this" Kaylia begged. She can sense Sam's hesitations.

"Ok…." Sam said placing a small kiss on her forehead.

Sam stood up. "Move out" she instantly said.

John had Kaylia by the hand. Before they reached the gate, Kaylia ran to Jack. She made him kneel down so she can whisper something in his ear.

"Jack… take care of her. She's going to need you now more than ever." She said softly.

Jack just looked at Kaylia. He had no clue what she meant.

"Always kiddo, Always" is all he was able to conjure up.

Kaylia grabbed Johns hand and into the wormhole they entered.

Sam stood watching them disappear into the gate. She can only hope and pray, she'd made the right decision.

She moved towards Jack.

"What was that all about?" she said, wondering what Kaylia had said to Jack.

"Oh….nothing…just how she thought I was awesome, and how much you love me…." Jack said sarcastically, not quite sure what Kaylia meant, so he figured not telling Sam, cause her wheels would start turning, and he knew she needed to focus.

Sam just looked at him. She gave him that grin she always did.

They stood their waiting. She did not want to disengage the worm hole till she knew the team was not going to be met with opposition.

They waited. What seemed like hours was only minutes. She was about to send a message via the MALP, when suddenly the wormhole disengaged on it's own.

"What the hell" Sam yelled. She turned to the control room.

"What the hell happened?" both her and Jack ran up..

"Mam..the gate it just closed..." the controller said.

"Gates just don't close..."Sam yelled, situating herself on one of the computers, trying to run a diagnostic.

"Dial back now" she yelled.

"I've tried, Ma'm it won't let me" the controller was frantically trying to re-dial again.

Sam fingers were running a mile a minute on the computer keys. Jack just stared at the gate.

He rubbed his face with his hands, wondering what did he just do. He was the one to convince Sam to let Kaylia go. Now did he just send her to her death? What were these people going to do? Why and how did the gate disengage, and most importantly, would they get there people back?


	9. Chapter 9

**_Back on the planet…._**

"What the hell?" Sheppard yelled.

"Open that gate" he said.

"Why, so you can try to kill us all?" a person yelled from in front of him.

Kaylia immediately tried to hide behind Sheppard.

"You bring a child with you?" he said, as he neared Sheppard.

"Don't come near her?" Sheppard said, pointing his weapon towards him. But they were outnumbered.

"Who are you?" Sheppard tried to calm the situation.

"My name is Warwick. I am the Captain of the Sebrus" he said.

Warwicks people walked towards both teams, and disarmed them.

"Please…we mean you no harm. We had to make sure you weren't being manipulated by the prisoners. They can be quite persuasive. " he said.

By this time Kaylia was hanging on to Sheppard for dear life.

"It's all right we are not going to hurt you." Warkwick said. Kaylia still frightened, continue to hide behind Sheppard.

"She's a little shy" Sheppard said, grabbing Kaylia's hand.

"Come…let's meet in our study hall. We can then speak." Warwick said.

His people let Sheppard, Kaylia and both SG teams, to this large room.

"Sit…drink….we will be with you shortly" Warwick said. A women had come and whispered something in Warwicks ear. He looked back at Kaylia, and then left the large room.

"Hey..Kaylia,,soooo..ya sensing anything, anything?" Sheppard immediately asked hoping the girl had some answers. Cause at the moment he had none.

"Nooo…nothing…" she said.

"Ok…we just got here, give it some time" Sheppard said, trying to calm the girls nerves.

"No..no you don't understand. I sense nothing….absolutely nothing…it's as if, they….they are" she stopped mid-sentence.

Warwick and re-entered the room. Her statement now truly made Sheppard nervous.

"Now…where were we…" he said.

"Ah…yes….the young one….i'm sure by now she's told you she can't sense us?" he asked.

Sheppard just looked confused and bewildered.

"You see….you are not the only ones that have come across her kind." Warwick stated.

"Did you think you could use her to get into our heads, or manipulate in some manner" Warwick stated, wondering what their true intentions were.

Sheppard didn't know how to react.

"Listen….there's just been a huge mis-understanding." Sheppard said as he stood.

"you have deceived us…take them away" Warkwick shouted.

"bring me the girl" Warkwick yelled.

"Noo…no…"Kaylia was screaming at this point.

"John you promised, you promised Sam, John" Kaylia screamed as they ripped her away from Sheppard.

"No..please…she's just a girl….please" John fought, but they immediately struck him with a weapon, and he fell unconscious.

"Johhhhnnnn…." Kaylia screamed. The dragged her away. Would she ever see Sam again? Would she ever go back home?

**_Back at Atlantis_**

Weeks had gone by. Sam wasn't any closer to cracking the code they had placed on the planets address. She was exhausted. Jack could see it wearing down on her. It was wearing down on him too. But he also knew she needed a break.

He can see her from the deck, sitting in her office, going over the code over and over again. Scientist walking in out with possible scenarios none worthy of her approval. She was getting frustrated. She began to snap at people, raise her voice. He could see if he didn't get her away from it all, even for just a short while, Sam was going to self-destruct. Most nights she would sleep in her office. When she did come to her room, she was so exhausted he would find her asleep in her clothes. He knew he had to do something.

He slowly approached her office. She was in the middle of yelling at a scientist, whose plan would ultimately blow up the planet.

"Get out…" she said. The scientist scurried out of her office, and almost ran over Jack.

"Another bad one huh" He said.

"Jack.. (she didn't care that she was using his first name) I've gone over it a hundred times, I just don't understand what they did…" she said.

He walked over to her. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"No…" she shrugged it off.

"This is my fault….I am the Commander of Atlantis. I shouldn't of let her go…none of them.." she yelled.

She went to stand in frustration and the whole room spun. Jack caught her before she hit the floor.

"Sam…." He yelled, as he caught her.

"I'm fine…" she kept saying…." I'm fine…." I just..I…." she wasn't fine. She had been feeling off for the last several weeks, but kept pushing it away. She didn't want anything to get in the way of her trying to find her teams, and Kaylia.

"We are going to the commissary and we are going to get you something to eat" he said.

"No… I have to keep working….the answer has to be here…..it has too" she said, trying to get out of his hold.

"No Sam….." he said. "Do you think Kaylia would want you to end up in the infirmary from starvation?" he said.

She just looked at him. She didn't have much strength to fight him. And suddenly the weeks of searching and searching took a toll on Colonel Samantha Carter. She collapsed in his arms.

"Sam…Sam…." He tapped her cheek.

"Dammit" he said "he lifted her in his arms, and ran to the infirmary. He knew she was pushing herself to hard, but now he knew, she had reached her limit.

He reached the infirmary. Dr. Keller saw him with someone in his arm, but she couldn't make out who it was till she got closer.

"What happened? " she immediately asked as Jack placed her on a gernie.

"I was taking her to get something to eat, and when she stood she got dizzy, and then just collapsed" Jack said. Dr. Keller could see the concern on his face. Oh how he loved this women, and had reached a point where he didn't care who knew.

"Let's get an IV started. " she yelled to the nurses. "I want a full work up, STAT".

Jack wouldn't move. The love of his life lay lifeless on a gernie.

"Sir…she's going to be ok… but I need to run some test. I promise I'll come get you as soon as she wakes, o.k.?" Dr. Keller said.

Jack moved slightly but he wasn't going anywhere.

She could see the exhaustion on Sam's face. This woman was persistent, and never gave up. She knew she was working hard, to get the team and Kaylia back home, but she didn't realize she had pushed herself to this point.

**_Several hours later…_**

Jack had made himself comfortable on one of the gernie's beside Sam. He wasn't moving from her side. He had dozed off from time to time, but always finding himself next to her.

Dr. Keller had hooked her up to fluids. Turns out she was dehydrated and over-exhausted.

"Ja—c" a soft voice came from the gernie next to him.

When he heard the voice, he quickly leaned over to her, since he was already by her side.

"Hey.." he said, grabbing her hand.

"There are my blue eyes…." He seriously had thrown protocol out the window.

"Whaa—t..wha-tt…where am I?" Sam asked trying to get up.

"Ahh…ahh… you're in the infirmary, Sam. You blacked out on me. I know I'm boring but geesh…you know how to work on a man's ego" he said, trying to make her smile.

"I what?" Sam said still trying to get up.

"Sam…you're not going anywhere" Jack said, grabbing her shoulders softly to lay her back down.

"Sir.. please…I need to get back to work, every minute gone by is one less minute I'll have to bring them home" Sam said.

He can see the worry and loss in her eyes. Sam was truly a leader, and no matter she would never give up on them.

"Jack…please" the use of his first name, how he loved to hear it come from her lips.

"Sam..i want them back just as much as you do…." He said. "But you've wore yourself to nothing. How is that going to help them. They need you in tip top shape. Let the Doc, do that o.k" Jack said.

Just then Dr. Keller, was walking towards Sam's bed.

Jack could see concern on her face.

"Can we have a moment please?" Dr. Keller said to the nurses who were in hearing distance.

She took the curtain and closed it for privacy.

"Doc…what's going on?" Jack said, really starting to worry.

"Hi, Colonel, good to see you're awake. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Exhausted..but I need to get back out there. The more time I sit here, the less time I have to get my team, and Kaylia home" Sam said. She was anything but persistent.

"I understand that Colonel. I really do. But there is something you need to know. I got your results back." She said.

Jack was getting annoyed. He can tell Dr. Keller had something to say but she wouldn't say it.

"For crying out loud…what is wrong with her?" he said. He was not the patient type.

Dr. Keller was hesitant in telling her results in front of Jack.

"It's o.k. Dr. He's known my medical history since day one" Sam said, putting Dr. Keller at ease.

"Well…" she paused,,, "You're pregnant Sam". Dr Keller used her first name. They had become friends, and although she was still her superior, saying Colonel after that statement just did seem right.

"I'm sorry..did you say pregnant, as in baby, sleepness nights, diapers…pregnant?" Jack said dumbfounded.

Sam still hadn't said anything. She was in shock.

"That's impossible" she finally chimed in. "Jolinar's marker….i….I….was told I could never conceive" She said.

"The test don't lie Colonel, you are pregnant. I've read your medical history, and I don't understand it, but you are pregnant …Colonel you will not be able to push yourself the way you have. Not now. When the General brought you in your levels were dangerously low. If you plan on keeping the pregnancy, things will need to change" Dr. Keller said.

"Sam….Sam..look at me?" Jack said. Sam was in still in a state of shock. Pregnant, a baby, now? Her mind was in a whirlwind.

"I'll leave you two alone" Dr. Keller could tell they both needed time to process this.

"Carter" He said her name quick and short.

"Sir…" she immediately responded. He had to snap her out of it.

"Hey…." He said.."Jack…I …I can't…..i…." Sam could barely speak.

Suddenly Jack remembered a short conversation he had with Kaylia before she left

_"Take care of her Jack, she's going to need you now more than ever" _

Is this what she meant? How could she know so soon? That was weeks ago?

"listen to me Sam…this is a lot to take in right now, and yes the timing sucks, but we can't change it." He told her.

"I never thought I'd be a father again, and yet here we are" Jack said. He too was still in some form of shock but he knew he needed to shake it off for Sam's sake.

"Jack I…" Sam again at a loss for words.

"Listen…how about we get you to your room, and have you rest o.k. All the decision don't need to be made at this moment." He said.

Where he thought he would get a fight, she didn't. He helped her off the bed, and up to her feet. He held her for a moment, but not too long in fear she was lose it emotionally. And he did not want that to happen in front of her staff.

Before they left, Dr. Keller stopped them.

"Hey…I'm going to need to you start taking these twice a day. There are some strong vitamins that your body is in real need of, and will need" she said.

"Got it Doc..Thanks" Jack said. He can see Sam's face and knew she wasn't going to last long.

With that he grabbed the vitamins, and Sam, and headed back to her room.

So many questions they both had unanswered. And now this. He wasn't sure how much more Colonel Samantha Carter could take on.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Back on the planet….**_

Several months had passed. John and his team remained prisoners. No harm had come to them, but they were not allowed to roam freely. Everyday John tried to talk to the leaders, to try to reason with them, to no avail. At times he thought Carter had given up. He knew months had passed by now. In those months he would hear the Stargate open, but it was never an SGC team. In the beginning his hopes were high, but as days and months progressed he soon lost hope. But what pained him most was Kaylia. He promised Carter he would let no harm come to her. And now he had no idea where she was or if she was hurt or being hurt. The guilt at times was overwhelming. He would ask about her daily as well, but that too fell to deaf ears.

Kaylia was kept separate from the rest of the team. They had her in a small room, in a house with a man and a young girl. No harm had to come to her. Kaylia realized these people had the capacity of blocking their thoughts. She had never seen anyone like them. In the beginning, the kept her secluded in fear that she would try to pry at someone's mind. But as time went on, they saw the girl was so frightened, she would do no harm. It was then they moved her to one of the homes of the men there. He had a young child. For several weeks Kaylia stayed to herself. She didn't speak or interact with anyone. She would eat alone, and look up at the sky for hours, with tears rolling down her face.

"Sam? Have you forgotten about us?" she thought to herself.

"Where are you Sam? I miss you so?"

"Kaylia" a voice from the distance suddenly breaking her train of thought.

It was the young girl. Her name was Elisa. She reminded Kaylia of one of the children she taught back at her home world.

"Kaylia….please don't cry" She said.

Kaylia wiped her tears off her face, not realizing the little girl must have been watching her for a time.

Kaylia smiled at her, and handed her a flower. Kaylia took it, and smelled it. It was beautiful and had a sweet smell.

"Come..come with me…we can pick them together?" the little girl said, with her hand out, hoping Kaylia would grab it.

Kaylia had not been allowed outside the confines of the home. At first she hesitated, but she quickly realized this could be her chance to learn about the area, how far the Stargate was, maybe find out where the team was. So she did just that, she grabbed the little girls hand and went along.

The father was busy tending to the home, and outside areas, he didn't even realize the two girls had left the home. Kaylia followed Elisa, making sure she took mental note of every part of her surroundings. They walked for what seemed like a distance, when suddenly before Kaylia's eyes, there stood the stargate. Her eyes lit up.

"If I could just get to it, maybe I can see how their gate works? Maybe I can figure out how to dial home?" she thought to herself.

"Elisa…Elisa…." A voice came from the distance.

It was Elisa's father. Kaylia suddenly realized she had to look totally disinterested in the Stargate. She ran towards Elisa and said, "tag your it". Elisa had no idea, what she was doing.

"You have to try to catch me?" Kaylia said, running away from the Stargate.

Elisa started to chase her, both girls started to laugh uncontrollably, when Kaylia ran right into Elisa's father, and Elisa was right behind her.

He grabbed Kaylia by the shoulders, but then quickly turned his attention to Elisa.

"Elisa, how many times have I told you not to run past the Station Tree." He said scolding her.

"Sorry Papa, we were having so much fun, I didn't realize how far we'd gone." She said, still giggling to herself.

Elisa's mother had died, several years ago, and Elisa was never quite the same. Seeing her laugh the way she was, made him smile.

"Papa, please don't upset, we were just having fun" Elisa said, giving him her puppy eyes.

He paused. "You can play together but not past the Station Tree? Understood" he said, as he looked at both girls.

Kaylia just looked at him. She realized that he meant her as well. Her head was down, but she lifted her eyes, and gave him a brief smile. They may know she can pry into minds, but they don't know how intelligent she is, and that she knows how to work a Stargate. There was Kaylia's advantage.

"C'mon Kaylia, let's go pick some more flowers" Elisa said pulling her arm as she passed her father. But before she left, she ran back to him and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you Papa" Elisa said.

He smiled while at the same time not wanting to look so soft to Kaylia, he stiffened his face again.

"I want you home before it gets dark?" he said. "Understood?"

"Yes papa, understood." Elisa said, while running towards a field full of more flowers and dragging Kaylia with her. She knew she had to play along. This might be her only chance of getting home. She just hoped and prayed Sam hadn't given up on her end.

Several weeks had passed. Kaylia took advantage every day to be out and about. She had gained Elisa's trust so, when they would venture away from the Station tree, Elisa thought it was fun, little did she know Kaylia's plan. One day while playing out in the fields, one of the guards had shown up. Elisa and Kaylia were picking flowers, only feet away from the stargate.

"Elisa..what are doing this far out?" the guard asked as he lifted her in his arms, and started walking towards the gate. Kaylia could finally see the DHD. She tried to keep her composure.

"Mr. Nin…please don't tell papa. The flowers here are so much prettier than they are by the Station tree. Kaylia and I were just picking some for home" she said.

The solider looked at Kaylia. She had her head down trying to look small and frail.

"Ah so this is Kaylia." Mr. Nin said as he lifted her chin.

"Well hello Kaylia. Nice to meet you" he said, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"hello" was all Kaylia said, and she said it softly.

He paused. He looked at Kaylia, and honestly felt for the young girl. He wondered if she had a family back home. He may be a solider but he didn't have to agree with what his superiors had done. He smiled at Kaylia.

He had Elisa in his arms. "Kaylia" he said. "This is our Ring of Water" he said, pointing to the Stargate. We use it to trade with other planets, and travel back and forth as well." He said. He then started to get closer to the DHD. Kaylia's heart was pounding at this point. This was it, this is what she needed. She needed to see that DHD. But before she could get a full glance, a voice came from the distance. It was Elisa's father. The girls quickly looked at each other.

Mr. Nin could sense the fear in both girls.

"Over here..over here" Mr. Nin yelled out.

"Oh no..Mr. Nin father is going to be angry, please" Elisa tried to stop him from calling out.

"It's o.k. trust me" he said to her.

"Elisa…did I not tell you not to past the Station Tree?" Her father yelled as he drew nearer to them, Kaylia hiding behind Mr. Nin.

"Sir…it's my fault Sir. I found them playing in the fields, and wanted to show the Ring of Water. So I brought them along" he said.

Elisa's father paused. He looked at them both. Kaylia was still hiding behind Mr. Nin, at the same time glancing at the DHD. She was able to see some of the symbols.

"well…then..O.K. I just don't want them wondering off." He said.

"oh no Sir. They're keeping me company. Gets a little lonely out here sometimes" Mr. Nin said, bouncing Elisa in his arms. She squealed in laughter.

Elisa's father stared for a moment. Again, seeing how happy Elisa was, he glanced at her, gave her a smile, and said "fine".

"I'll bring them home personally, before night fall Sir" Mr. Nin said. "There in good hands"

"Very well" he said, and started to walk away.

Kaylia was holding her breathe and didn't even realize it. She slowly exhaled.

"Kaylia, Kaylia..look at the pretty flowers there" Elisa said squirming out of Mr. Nin's arms.

Low and behold the flowers Elisa was pointing to were right by the DHD.

"Please, please Mr. Nin can we go there." Elisa begged.

"All right, but no touching the Dialing Device". He said.

Kaylia kept her head down. She continued to play the small frail role. And it seemed to be working. They made their way to the DHD. There it was. Kaylia didn't realize it but at one point she just stopped and stared, taking in every symbol noticing there was one symbol she had never seen, and she made a mental note of it.

Before any can take notice, she knelt with Elisa, and started to pick flowers. She made her way closer to the stem of the DHD hoping she could see its components. But before she could, the gate activated. Seems a team was coming through.

"Sorry Ladies, we will have to cut this short..we have a team coming through. You'll need to head home now." Mr. Nin said, escorting the girls away from the gate. As he did Kaylia placed close attention to the symbols that were lighting up on the gate. She noticed that at one point one symbol lit up twice. She had never seen that before. As they walked away, Kaylia's mind was going a mile a minute.

"Maybe that's why Sam can't dial back in." She thought. "One symbol is used twice..that has to be it". She walked quietly back to her now home.

"Kaylia, are you all right?" Elisa asked. She could tell that she was pensive.

"I'm fine Elisa…" she didn't want to alarm the young girl. She smiled at her, and then started to run.

"See if you can catch me?" she said, hoping it would be an immediate distraction to Elisa. And it was. The girl started chasing Kaylia straight back to the house.

The both sat trying to catch their breathe as they sorted through the flowers they had picked. Kaylia sat hoping she wasn't drawing attention to herself, but she tried to remember back when she was saved from her world. If she could remember what the SGC team used to dial Atlantis, she might be able to dial home somehow some way. It was getting late. When she looked up she could see Elisa's father making his way back. She gave a "make believe" yawn.

"I'm quite tired, Elisa. I think I am going to go lie down" She told her.

"O.k. I wait for papa" she said.

"Good night Kaylia" Elisa said. "Good night Elisa" Kaylia responded with a smile. A part of her felt bad that she was using Elisa's friendship, as a means to get to the gate but, if it was the only possible way of getting home, then it had to be.

She made her way to her small room. She closed the door behind her. She immediately tore a piece of cloth she had. She had taken a small piece of coal she had found by the DHD, and hoped it could be of some type of writing tool. She began to write down what she could remember. She wrote out the symbols of the DHD as well as the extra symbol. She sat and thought hard to see if she could remember when the team rescued them. Nothing was coming to mind. She knew she had to remember those, for if not there was no way of her dialing that gate and somehow getting that extra symbol to Sam. She knew if she did, Sam would figure out how to dial in. It had to be the reason why no rescue team had come through in so long. They couldn't dial in. By this point Kaylia was tired. She knew she had to hide her writings. She found a loose floorboard under her bed, and placed them securely. She laid in bed looking out her small window, with tears rolling down her face. The possibility of getting home, becoming more real to her.

"Sam if you're out there, please don't give up on us. We are here…. I might have a way" She said softly to herself, as she looked out at the stars she just hoped and pray her plan could work.


	11. Chapter 11

"Kaylia…." Sam woke up screaming her name. Jack was startled out of his deep sleep, and immediately came to her side.

"Hey..hey…it's ok..its ok" Jack said as he cradled her in his arms.

"God Jack it's like I can hear her. She's out there, wondering if I've given up on her. I swear Jack, I just can't figure it out" Sam said hysterical in his arms.

"Sam you will. You're Samantha Carter." Jack said trying to re-assure her.

Sam just cried, and cried. Her emotions due to the pregnancy were heightened. 3 months had passed, and they weren't any closer to figuring out why they couldn't dial the coordinates. Pregnancy symptoms were on a all time high with Sam. The morning sickness hit her full force, and right along side it was the exhaustion. She tried to fight through it, but most times Jack would find her either throwing up in a pail in her office, or asleep at her desk. How he loved this woman, and where he thought he could never love her more than he did, he did now. The pregnancy wasn't helping the current situation, but he couldn't help but feel a certain amount of pride and amazing love for the women who was carrying his child. He held her close and hoped it would be enough for that moment.

Morning came and Sam was still asleep. Where most times she was up before him, lately she was sleeping in and he had to wake her. This morning, happen to be the weekend, and he was going to let her sleep as long as he possibly could. He was concerned about her constant nausea and vomiting so he took his Com link out side to the promenade, and buzzed the Dr.

"Dr. Keller…come in it's Jack" he didn't bother using his rank since he was retired.

"Come in Sir" Dr. Keller replied. "Hey you got a minute, like to chat with you about Sam" He said.

"is she alright?" she asked. She was concerned. Sam and her had grown to be good friends.

"Yea…she's o.k. .." he said but he didn't want her to hear him, cause she knew she'd stop him from going. She hated seeming weak to her crew.

"I'll meet you in your office if you don't mind" he said.

"Sure Sir..not a problem" she said. She didn't understand his hesitation, but she played along.

Jack made his way out of the room as quietly as he could. Sam was in a deep sleep, and he watched for a moment. She was so beautiful. How could I be so lucky, he thought to himself.

He made his way to the infirmary.

"Hey Doc" he said, looking around to make sure no one was around. He actually wanted Dr. Keller's advance on another issue.

"Sir…hey how are you?" she asked, "How's the Colonel?"

"I'm good…She's resting. She had a rough night, so I'm letting her sleep in" he said.

"Actually there was something else I wanted to talk to you about" he said.

"OH" she said, wondering what he could possibly have to talk about especially knowing how he hated Dr's and infirmaries.

"Well….for one I'm no longer, Sir.." he said.

She looked puzzled.

"I retired before I came to Atlantis" he said. Although she helped him accomplish that special night, she really didn't know what it entailed and she never asked, although she assumed. But she also knew they both respected regulations, they did for so long.

"Thanks for the clarification Sir…" she said. With Sam being pregnant he realized he needed to clear the air, before rumors and assumptions, which he was sure, were already swarming the facility.

"Right…sooo….." he really was bad with words, for he couldn't figure out what to say next.

"AH…so you'd like to know how to get that information across to the crew?" she finished his sentence and thought for him. She could see how Sam, had fallen in love with this man. He was really cute, when he couldn't figure out what to say next.

"Right" He said. He gave her back a smile, grateful that she didn't leave him to his own devices, on trying to put that thought in a sentence.

"Well, when Sam has an informal announcement to make since usually anything formal is sent out by letter and the like, she just gathers everyone by the gate" she said, hoping that was o.k. with him.

"Perfect….can you?" he swirled his fingers around as to try to say, if this was something she could do, but again, no words came out of his mouth…

"Can…I gather the crew at the gate?" she said, again smiling at his loss for words.

"Right…yes, gather the crew at the gate," he repeated, standing straighter as if to show some authority.

Dr. Keller gave him a smirk, and said "will do". He smiled back at her.

"Just chirp me, (pointing to the com in his ear,) when you're ready..I'm going to grab her some food, hoping she can keep it down this time" he said.

"Morning sickness still an issue?" Dr. Keller asked. She was worried about Sam. She needed to eat, and if she wasn't she would definitely need to be on some type of alternative, to make sure she and the baby were getting the nutrients she needed.

"Yea…not as bad, as the last month, but still there." He said.

"Thanks again, Doc" He said as he made his way to the mess hall, hoping Sam would keep down something.

_**Back at Sam's Room….**_

Jack brought her back some food, and she was able to keep it down.

"Thank you" she said. As she push the tray aside, as started to make her way to the shower.

"What you duin?" he asked, knowing very well the answer to that question.

"Taking a shower.?" She said softly. He followed behind, her with his hands on her shoulders. He turned the water on for her, undressed her and helped her in. It seemed as if she was feeling better. As of late she had not been able to focus on anything. Between the nausea and exhaustion it zapped her completely. Sheppard at times would have to fill in for her, and he didn't mind at all. He knew that Sam was at the verge of breaking.

Sam stepped into the shower closed her eyes, and just let the water hit her. She began to cry, and whimper.

"I feel like such a failure, Jack" she said as the water washed over her face.

Jack quickly undressed and came from behind her and held her. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. He just held her, like so many other times, and let her cry. She cried for awhile, but then her cries became less. She suddenly turned to face him. She looked up at him, "I love you soo much" she said to him.

"I love you Samantha Carter" he said back. She leaned up and kissed him. It was soft at first, but then it was a need of passion that crept up from Sam, that he hadn't seen in awhile. She needed him. She needed him to make her numb to all that she had to face, but alive in the current situation. Jack wasn't sure what to do at this point. Where he wanted her badly, (with everything that was going on, the love making had come to a slow hault) but he also knew she was filled with emotion.

"Sam…."he said as he pulled their lips apart.

"Are you sure…" he asked her. Wanting to give her the option.

"Jack….i need you… I need you now, right now" she said, as the tears continued to fall from her face.

He could see that it was not only a need sexually but it was a need of comfort, want, and security.

Jack began to kiss her again, this time deep and slow. He slowly walked her towards the wall of the shower so she can have something stable to lean on. He ran his hands up and down her body rubbing each breast, and caressing them with tender loving care. He sucked each one lightly then vigorously. Sam let out a moan of satisfaction. He had his hand between her folds, and massaged every part of her womanhood. Sam gasped at the enjoyment of it all. He could smell her and knew she was ready for him, but not just yet. He remembered how he enjoyed tasting her, and how she enjoyed his mouth, in her most inner being. So with that he slowing made his way down to her. She knew where he was headed, and an excitement built up in her belly. Jack took one leg, and carefully placed it over his shoulder so he can have easier access to her. Sam's hand were on his shoulder, anticipating his every move. Before she knew it Jacks mouth had totally engulfed her. His tongue was doing things, that were making her moan and scream his name, in enjoyment. Jack then sucked, her very core, and Sam, screamed his name. It wasn't long were Sam completely peaked, and almost collapsed against Jack's shoulder. He removed her leg from his shoulder, and held on to her. She was spent, but in a good way. He held, as he rinsed his mouth from the water behind them. She cried against him. And he just held her.

"I don't deserve you" she said.

"Quite the contrary, My lady..I don't deserve you" Jack said, as he placed his hand on her chin, and lifted her face to kiss her. He kissed her softly, and let her take control. If she had the strength to go further, he let her lead. And she did. Before long her kiss deepened. She ran her hand down his stomach to Jack's very manhood. She rubbed and pulled, wanting it badly. Making love in the shower was difficult especially with his bad knees, but he wasn't going to kill the moment, asking to get out of the shower, and to a more comfortable setting. So with that, the shower was a large enough shower, one of those were 4 people could fit in, so Jack slowly sat on the floor of the shower. He brought her close to him, and let her see he was letting her have total control. She slowly, with his help, made her way down to him, she positioned herself on to him, and slowly allowed him to enter her. Sam quickly gasped. Jack was well endowed. He allowed her to adjust to him, and then Sam, settled completely on top of him. She held on to him, and hugged him tightly. Jack can feel her pulsating inside, and didn't know who much longer he was going to last. He slowly made his way down to her waste, and started lifted her slowly, up and down, as to get her on pace, and she obliged. Before long, Sam was thrusting herself on to him. At one point Jack gasped. She was thrusting hard, with no reguard for pain whatsoever. He can tell this was her small way of just escaping everything that had happened, and was still happening.

He grabbed her waist, and started to match her thrust as best as he could in that position. Before long, they both reached a peak of ecstasy, and Sam collapsed into his shoulder and he into hers. They sat there letting the warm water of the shower hit them, and wash away the fluid effects of love making. She started to cry again, "I love you…I love you" is all she kept saying.

He didn't say anything. He just held her. She knew he loved her. And at the moment she needed for him to hold her. They sat for a moment, Jack still inside her. He lifted her softly to remove himself, and put her on his side. He got up then helped her up, and shut the water off. He then turned to her, grabbed her face and said "Colonel Samantha Carter, the women who has blown up a sun, the women who has saved this world countless time, the women that I adore and love, the women who now carries my child, You are going to get through this. You are going to find your team, and Kaylia. Do you hear me Colonel" he said.

She can see the intensity in his eyes. Suddenly something rose up in her.

She responded with two words. "Yes..Sir". She looked straight into his eyes, and said it again "Yes…Sir". Somehow, someway she knew she was going to find them. Somehow, she was going to bring them home.

_**Several Hours past…**_

Sam made her rounds. Her crew was so happy to see her out and about. No one knew she was pregnant. They just knew she was spent from trying to locate her teams and Kaylia. She sat in the control room, working with the scientist trying to figure out if there were other possible ways of reaching the planet. They could tell she had an extra spring in her step. Something in her eyes had changed. They knew all that she had accomplished in her years with SG1, and that she was not about to start giving up now.

Dr. Keller had let Jack know that she had made the arrangements for him to speak to the crew. He just didn't want Sam there. He knew it would make her feel extremely uncomfortable. So with that, lunch time was soon approaching. So he made his way to her office, where she was toying with simulations on her computer.

"Hey.." he said.

"Hey….." she replied

"It's almost lunch time. Feel like trying to eat something?" he asked. She hadn't had another bout of nausea all day. He was hoping that was a good sign.

"Actually…would you mind if you grab something and just head back to my room. I think I need to lay down for a bit" she said.

"Are you o.k.?" He said shocked that she was admitting she was tired, and wanting to rest.

"I'm fine Jack…I just know that I can't push myself like I was. It's not going to help me get my team or Kaylia back if I'm on my back in the infirmary" she said.

"Um….can someone please go find me Colonel Samantha Carter? I believe we may have an impostor in our midst" Jack said, with that all familiar smirk on his face.

She smiled, almost chuckled at him.

She got up, closed her laptop, and started out of her office.

They walked side by side, she gently leaned into him. They made there was to the mess hall grabbed some food, and got to her room. They ate together. She ate slowly, but she yawned through most of her meal.

"C'mon" he said, as he put his food down, put his hand out to her, and she grabbed it without hesitation. He led her to her bed, and helped her sit. He took her shoes off and she laid down. He came from behind her, and just held her. It didn't take long before her breathing became slow and heavy. Samantha Carter had fallen into a deep sleep. He held her for a little longer to make sure she was out completely. He then got up, and made his way to Dr. Keller.

He reached the infirmary.

"Hey you think you can round up the crew now?" he asked. She's resting, and I'd like to get this done sooner than later. Jack said. He was nervous, but for Sam's sake, and reputation, he had to clear the air, officially, for the crew. He owed them that much, for they truly respected and admired Sam.

"Sure Sir, just one sec" Dr. Keller said.

She leaned into her com, "Colonel Mitchell, come in."

"Go ahead, Dr." He said.

"Code, CSC"

"Understood" he said. Dr. Keller had already discussed it with Mitchell and they came up with a quick code, for when Jack was ready that was he needed to hear to proceed.

"Code CSC?" Jack asked.

"Colonel Samantha Carter?" Keller said. "I know corny but I just needed something to tell him quick, so he can round up everyone".

Jack, smirked, "Yea corney but…it worked' he said.

They both made their way to the gate room. Everyone began to gather. Sheppard let him know when everyone had arrived, and were all accounted for.

Jack quickly spoke before he lost his nerve.

"Hi All…..thanks for gathering. This won't take long. First off, I just wanted to publicly thank you all for how hard you have been working to get our teams &amp; Kaylia home. Please know it has not gone un-noticed. Many of you are probably wondering where is Colonel Carter? She's fine, she in her room resting. Most of you have noticed she's been on edge, and stretching herself thin. She has since realized that, and knows that is not going to help our people get home. But also, I preferred she was not here, for this part…I wanted to let you all know, that the minute I walked through that start gate several months ago, I was a retired Air-force General. Yes, that's right. I have finally retired from the Stargate program." He said.

For a moment it was dead silence. Till Mitchell chimed in. "Congratulations Sir…." And he started to clap. With that others followed.

"Thank you, thank you…." He said.

"I just wanted it to be clear, that again, I am now retired, and have been retired, since the minute I walked through that gate, and Colonel Carter is no longer under my command" He paused and looked around. He knew Sam had a smart crew, so his repeat statement was for triple assurance.

"Now let's get back to work and bring Kaylia and our teams home" He said.

With that they all clapped. They all knew what he meant, and he was glad it was over with. He smiled at Dr. Keller and Mitchell and made his way out of the gate room, only to find a particular Samantha Carter leaning against the wall, by the hallway near her office.

"Um…Sam..Hi" he said. He was not prepared for her to be standing there.

"So….." his hands crossed in front of his chest..not knowing what to do with himself or what to say at this point " how long you've been standing there" he asked, so hoping NOT long.

"long enough" she said.

"Ah" he said.

"Listen about that…" as he pointed back to the gate.. "mhmm" she said. He couldn't gauge her. Where he always knew how she would react, Sam was not reacting. She just started walking to her office.

"Sam…I just….." Jack was at a loss for words.

"Thank you Jack…" she said softly. Although everyone knew now that he was no longer her commanding officer, she still had respect for him, so the use of his first name wasn't something she would do often in front of her crew.

"I've been struggling with that ever since we found about" she didn't say it since listening ears were always around. " I just didn't know how"

"Well there you have it's done then… You're Welcome" he said with his arms stretched out, which brought a smile to Jacks face and a smile to Sam's.

**"OFF WORLD ACTIVATION OFF WORLD ACTIVATION"** startled them out of there intense eye contact.

They both made their way to the control. Sam knew her manifest and no teams were scheduled to return on this day.

"Report" she quickly said.

"Colonel…I have no IDC Code, nothing yet" her crew member said. Suddenly three short burst along with three long burst hit the gate.

"What the hell was that?" Jack said.

And again the same burst hit the gate. The protective shield was up so nothing came through. All they heard were the burst. Then the gate shut down.

"Report, Airmen" Sam immediately said.

"Ma'm the gate just closed on its own" he said.

Sam immediately sat at the console, and starting running a diagnostic.

"Play back the audio of when those bursts came in?" she yelled.

The airmen quickly pulled up the audio, as Sam continued her diagnostic on the gate.

"short, short, short, long, long, long, short, short, short" and as if all on cue, they said "that's Morse code, that's an SOS" suddenly Sam got up, and looked right at Jack.

"Kaylia" they both mouthed her name but didn't say it out loud. Sam had a face of determination.

Over the loud speaker, she immediately chimed in " I need everyone to stop what they are doing and focus on the last transmission that just got came through that gate.. don't over-look anything. The smallest piece of information could prove to be key…" she said.

She sat back down at the controls and her hands couldn't move fast enough. Jack just watched her. Colonel Samantha Carter was back and in full force. She was going to get her team and Kaylia back. He never doubted it. He just let her work, and let her be the women he had grown to love and knew she wasn't going to let this defeat her.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

_**Back on the Planet…..several weeks before**_

Kaylia had learned her route to the gate. She had loosened the floor boards in her room enough for her to fit through and escape during the night. She remembered her steps and every move she needed to make to get to the gate. At night she would study it, she study every part of it. She borrowed one of Elisa's fathers lights, and worked with that at night. The guards wouldn't guard the gate at night since they had a special device that would lock out the dialing device. This is what Kaylia had to figure out. It took her weeks. Every night she would sit and study. During the day she would run simulations in her head, and at night she would try to carry them. Night after night she would fail. At time she herself wanted to give up, but she knew she couldn't. Till one day, she tried a new simulation and suddenly realized she had unlocked the stargate. She had come up with her only way to communicate with a IDC code, and it was just the old Morse Code S.O.S. She knew it was earth's way of saying "Someone help me" she just hoped it wasn't used by other planets. She started to dial Atlantis coordinates. She knew this might her only chance. She pressed the last coordinate on the dialing device, and watch the gate spin. Could this be her chance, would Sam understand her S.O.S. and figure out how the gate worked.

Suddenly the gate swished open. This was it. She grabbed her rocks and tossed them in consecutive throws. Hoping it would hit the horizon the right way. It's all she could think of on how to get through. She knew they wouldn't open the gate's shield without an IDC Code, it was her only chance. She can only hope and pray that Sam would understand it some how some way. She waited, and the gate suddenly closed. She was worried she'd get caught so she hid in the forest, praying no one heard the gate activate or that there was an alarm she wasn't sure of. She found a small bush, where she just sat, and watched the gate intently. Nothing! Kaylia's heart sank. Will she ever get back home? Would she ever see the Sam again? They had become her new family. The tears just ran down her face. She knew she had to get back before sunrise, so she started her track home. She looked back at the Stargate one more time and said "Sam, don't give up on me".

She made it to the house, snuck back into her room from the loose floors boards, and cried herself to sleep. Although Elisa was there to keep her company, Kaylia had never felt so alone.

The guards would be at the gate sporadically. Since they had this new found friendship with Mr. Nin, Kaylia always knew when the gate wasn't being guarded, and it was those nights that she would continue the same ritual she had begun several weeks ago.

But one night she decided to throw an additional object through the gate. Whether it made it through or not, she just didn't know, but she had to try. This time though she wrapped one of the rocks, with a cloth she had ripped from some of her bedding. She had drawn the extra symbol on the rock, hoping somehow they would see it. She wasn't sure of anything at this point but, she was trying everything she could possibly think of to reach Sam.

_**Back on Atlantis, present time**_

"I still can't make it out. Try to filter out the subspace RF interference, and try to give me a clearer view on the video feed." Sam said.

Jack, had rolled over in bed, only to find the bed empty.

Sam hadn't left the control room. It what the middle of the night, and Jack was not happy.

He made his way to the control, only to see a very tired, but nonetheless, Samantha Carter.

"Carter?" He said. He almost startled her.

"Sir", although he had exclaimed his retirement, she still couldn't publicly call him Jack.

"Sir" she said again, " this is the 3rd incoming wormhole in the last several hours"

"All right, so it's the middle of the night, and you're still sitting in the same spot I left you, earlier this evening." He said to her. She can tell he was annoyed just by the tone of his voice.

She knew where he was headed. And all though he couldn't order her to leave, if he did, she wasn't sure how she would react. She was still the Commanding Officer of that facility, and she had a job to get done.

"I haven't left yet." She replied. There was a brief pause.

"Ya think?"

Didn't I tell you, you need to rest Carter?" He said, looking down at her belly and quickly back up to her eyes. Her pregnancy was still not public knowledge. She didn't want the scientist or her crew treating her any different. She needed there full attention on getting her teams and Kaylia home.

"Yes sir, you did, but this is a…" She said as she was interrupted by one of the scientist.

"Colonel, Colonel," one of the scientist came running to her. "The video feed, the video feed."

The scientist immediately ran over to the console that Sam was on and practically knocked her over. She got up only to not realize she had placed her hand over her belly, almost as if in a protective motion. She looked at the scientist then at Jack, and quickly moved out of the seat. The scientist paused, and gave Sam a brief smile, and then quickly pulled up the video feed.

They all stared at the screen. What they saw was a shot of a rock with a symbol wrapped around it.

When Carter saw it she knew exactly what it was. A gate symbol.

"That's symbol…that symbol is not on our database" she said, kneeling closer to the screen trying to make it out. I need everyone to start researching; we need to know where that symbol could possibly gate to. We need to narrow down the search to planets we've already visited." She said with excitement in her voice.

"Colonel…what I don't understand is, how were we able to gate to the planet before? " the scientist had a valid question.

"I don't know…maybe they bypass it for visitors. But for enemies, by including the extra symbol, it locks down the gate?' but we need to find out fast."

"This has to be Kaylia. This has to be" Sam said. She stood and stared at the gate.

"Hang in there Kaylia, wer'e coming, we're coming."


	13. Chapter 13

Several days had past. The scientist, including Sam worked intently. They were so close. They spent hours working on simulations, over and over again. She was so grateful for her team. They weren't giving up on their people, and she can see that. But Sam knew she couldn't be working so hard, without taking a break. She trusted her team.

"Michaels" she called out to one of the scientist. "I'm going to go lay down for a bit" Sam was started to feel exhausted. Without hestitation, the scientist responded "We got you Ma'm" and smiled.

Sam just smiled back at her. She got up and made her way to her quarters. She didn't realize how tired, she was till she started using the wall as support. Just then Jack saw her leaning against the corridor.

"Hey..hey.." he said. " You ok?" he said, grabbing her arm, and leaning her against him.

"I'm exhausted Jack…just need to lay down" she could barely get out.

"I can tell…I was just about to drag you out of the control room' he said to her. He quickly lifted her up in his arms, and made his way to her room. He was so glad the door didn't require a turn of a knob to open, since his knees were already giving out. He entered the room and slowly laid her down on the bed. He took her boots off, and made her comfortable. Sam was out before he could even cover her with the blanket she had at the foot of the bed.

He made his way to the promenade, and made pressed his Comm link.

"Dr. Keller, come in"

"Dr. Keller here" she responded.

"Hey..I have Sam in her room. I need you to come by and check on her. She was leaning pretty hard against the wall when I found her, and she's out cold now. I'm a little concerned" he said, looking back in the room watching her sleep.

"I'll be right there" she replied.

"Thanks Doc"

He made his way back to the room, and watched her sleep. He realized how pale she had become. He knew how stubborn she was, but it wasn't only her anymore. His child was at stake as well.

The door chimed. He walked over the let Dr. Keller in.

"Hey…" Dr. Keller walked straight to Sam. "How she duin?"

"She practically collapsed the minute I carried her in" Jack said. You could see the worry on his face.

"She's pale…." Keller immediately picked up. She pulled out her med kit and started to work on Sam.

"Hmmm" Sam woke, but was groggy.

"Hey..it's me…Jen…(Carter and her had become closer friends, throughout the whole ordeal), I need to check your vitals, you don't look to good'

"Tired…."was all Sam was able to get out.

"I know…" Jen said. "I'll be quick, o.k."

Sam just knodded. She didn't have the strength to argue.

Suddenly Sam's Comm went off.

"Over my dead body" Jack said, as he grabbed her Comm.

"Hello..This is Retired General O'Neill, unless the base is being attacked by foreign aliens, Colonel Carter will not be disturbed" he said. Jennifer looked at him, and saw how serious he was.

Suddenly the voice on the other end paused.

"Sir..I'm sorry Sir…it's just…it's we figure it out Sir…we figured it out" the scientist said on the other side of the Comm.

"I'm on my way" Jack said. He knew Sam was in no condition to manage this. Would she be upset later? Sure…she wouldn't be Colonel Samantha Carter if she wasn't, but he didn't care.

"Doc…" but before he could say another word, she responded "I got her…go". She smiled at him.

"Thanks" he said. Before he walked out the door, he walked over to the bed, and placed a kiss on her cheek.

And with that he left her room and headed to the Control Room. If they figured out how to get their teams back, he was the one who might just have to complete this mission. He wasn't going to back down now.

"Update" he said. He reached the Control Room, and everyone paused. They were all there when he made the announcement about his retirement, yet, this was General Jack O'Neill, no one was going to argue with him.

"Sir..the dialing sequence, it's …" the scientist started with the technobabble that was only cute when Sam said it.

"In English" he interrupted the scientist.

"Sir..we can get our people home" she said.

"GREAT! I want a team assembled in an hour.." he said quickly.

"Sir…." The scientist stopped him. "If we were receiving the signals at night, wouldn't it be best if we wait till then. Something tells me the gate isn't guarded. If it was we would of never gotten those signals at that particular time" she said.

He looked at her. She reminded him of a young Carter. He smiled.

"Right…we will head through that gate, at 2200…" he said, with that grin he always through around.

"Sir" the scientist interrupted again. "Do you think we should send some type of message to whoever is sending us the signal? Something only someone from the SGC would know?...just to let them know we got the messages and we are coming?" The scientist said hoping she was overstepping her boundaries.

Without hesitation, he said "do it".

The scientist looked at him. "Yes Sir" is how she responded. Jack walked away. But the scientist was stuck trying to figure out what to send that was unique to SGC that the other side couldn't understand or decipher.

"Morse code" she quickly said. "O.k. she shouted to the team. We need to send a morse code message quickly. General O'Neill, will be leaving with a team at 2200. We will send the code at 1900. Let's just hope, Kaylia is on that other side to receive it" The scientist easily used her name, for she knew she was the only one who would have been able to figure out the DHD.

Jack paced. Where he had Sam to come up with the ideas, He knew he had to handle this one. For her sake, and the sake of their baby.

"Mitchell, come in" Jack said into his comm.

"Mitchell here"

"gather up the prisoners. They'll be joining us for the ride. Meet me at the gate at 2200" Jack said, hoping to use them as leverage.

"Understood" Mitchell responded. He too was hoping this was would be the thing to get his team, and Kaylia back.

_**Back on the planet (time 1900hrs (earth))**_

Every night Kaylia sat by the gate and waited. This night was no different. She sat by the bushes in case a solider came by, which wasn't often. She looked up at the stars, with tears flowing down her face. Suddenly the gate started to dial. Could this be it? Could she finally be coming home? Third chevron locked, fourth chevron locked. And there it was the gate lit up. She just sat, and starred at it. She waited and waited. Nothing! Was it another team coming in? But, she knew no one from that planet traveled at night. Who could it be? Was she in danger? Could it be the same creatures that attacked her planet? Her hands were sweating. She was so frightened, she couldn't move. Suddenly an object came flying through the gate. And soon after that the gate shut. Kaylia just froze. She knew she had to go and grab it, but at that moment fear over took her.

"C'mon Kayla…is this how Sam would react" she said to herself. She mustarded everything she had in her and slowly got up, and ran to the gate. She lifted the item. As she read dots and dashes, tears rolled down her face. "I knew you wouldn't give up on me Sam. I knew it" she said. At first she wanted to shout with excitement but she knew she had to keep quiet. She just sat. She wasn't going to move. Time stood still. The minutes felt like hours. Finally 2200. Kaylia just stared at the gate.

_**Back on Atlantis**_

"We ready to move out" Jack said, wanted this over with.

"Yes Sir" Mitchell said as he walked into the gate room with the prisoners. They all stared at Jack.

"It's time you all get back home" he said as he stared right back.

"Dial that gate" he shouted.

The gate spun, and started to lock coordinates. With symbols locked, and the horizon before them, the team started in. They had guns drawn since they didn't know what they were going to face, but they knew, they had to get their teams home. They were willing to face whatever it was on the other side.


	14. Chapter 14

One by one they came through the gat guns drawn and watching the prisoners to make sure none would try to escape.

"Mitchell, Johnson, take point, Gardner, you stay with the prisoners" O'Neill immediately said.

It was dark, but a low light came from the distance, Seemed like their sun was slowly rising.

O'Neill heard an noise from the bush in the distance.

He silently approached. Since it was still dark, Kaylia couldn't make out the team, until she moved closer. And there he was. She ran towards him.

"Jaccccckk" she said. Jack was startled and quickly aimed his weapon at her not realizing it was Kaylia. She stopped in her tracks. When he realized it was Kaylia he quickly put down his weapon, and said her name "Kaylia".

She looked at him. Jack smiled. It was as if he had found his long lost little sister. She ran towards him, he swept her in his arms, and she held on for dear life. "Jack…Jack….." she cried into his shoulder.

"Shhh…it's ok…you're safe now" he said to her. Where he wanted to just console her he knew he had to get in and out of this planet. He put her down, and placed his hands on her shoulders. He can see that she was looking around, as she wiped her tears.

"Where's …where's Sam?" she immediately asked, finding odd that she didn't come through the gate first.

"Sam's back home Kaylia…she was ill, but she's going to be o.k" he said to her. Kaylia looked concerned but she knew she had to push that aside.

"Kaylia, where are Sheppard and the rest of the teams?" Jack immediately asked.

"Ohh Jack…I don't know….they separated us, almost as soon as we arrived. I've been living with a man and his daughter ever since. He's never even mentioned the team. " she said, with worry in her voice.

"Kaylia….can you…can you sense them?" Jack asked her hoping for they were still alive.

"No Jack… I can't…." she said as she hung her head down.

Suddenly a loud noise came from the distance. Jack immediately knelt and grabbed Kaylia. He signaled to the rest of the team, to take their stance. He was hoping they would not end up in battle of gun fire. He could see it was group of soldiers headed their way.

"Kaylia I want you to hide, and not come out till I say so" he said.

"Jack..let me talk to them. I know the lead solider" Kaylia said.

Jack just paused. Putting a young girl in the front line was never his idea of a good plan, but Kaylia had been on this planet for months, and he knew she was a smart girl. But what other choice did he have. He was careful. He grabbed kaylia and placed her behind him. As soon as the soliders approached SG team, came out of the bushes.

"Well hello there everyone?" Jack said. Even in the most tense moments, the man found a way to use sarcasm.

"Who goes there? Who are you? How did you get here?" The soldiers yelled. All weapons were pointed to the SG team, and vice versa.

"Nin..is that you?" one of the prisoners spoke out.

"Gerbran…." He said. "you thought you can escape us did you" Nin said.

Kaylia came out from behind Jack.

"Kaylia get back here" he said, trying to grab her but she finagled her way from his grasp.

Mr. Nin this is my family. They've come to take me and my friend's home. They have returned your people. Please, please let us go home" Kaylia begged Mr. Nin.

"Kaylia….what are you doing here. It is not safe here. Go back home." Mr. Nin said.

"No….this is my family. I helped them get here" she said.

"Helped them…You're just a child. What do you know of the gate"

"A lot more than you thought" Jack chimed in.

"Please Mr. Nin. I just want to go home. We want no harm done. Again we did not know they were prisoners. We were just trying to help. So now we return them to you, unharmed." She said.

"Listen….we meant no harm, as my team, originally had stated before you kept them captive. So..here's the deal. An even trade. You give us our people, and we will give you yours." Jack said. Guns still drawn.

"What is the meaning of this?" a voice came from the distance. It was Elisa's father. Kaylia just stood there. She showed no fear.

"This is my family, and they are here to take me home."

"how did they dial the gate. No one can access our gate system" Elisa's father was irate.

"Oh so you thought" Jack said.

"it was I. I figured out your extra symbol lock, and was able to configure the DHD accordingly" Kaylia said quite proud. Jack gave a quick grin. Seems Kaylia kept her knowledge of the gate hush hush to these people. He was proud.

"You..you're a female let alone just a child, impossible" Elisa's father grew more angrier.

"Listen..the girl figured out you're little lock-out and now we are here. Give us our people, we give you yours, and we'll never come to this God-forsaken planet again." Jack was getting annoyed.

"Or…I send a nuke through this gate, which will obliterate your entire world" Jack said, bluffing but so hoping they'd take the bait.

"You'd do no such thing." Elisa's father stated.

"Oh…Ok… (Jack as a Plan B had a drone, wired with explosives. This culture was advanced, but compared to the SG team, they were primitive) Send the test nuke." Jack said into his walkie. The gate was still active. They did not want to disengage in case they couldn't dial back in. The team was ready. The drone flew through the gate and straight into the air. BOOM. It exploded just feet away from the soldier's heads.

"What sorcerie is this?" Elisa's father said in fear.

"That's just a test nuke. The big one is right behind it" Jack said trying not to blow his bluff.

"Fetch the prisoners. Let's get rid of these people and end this." Elisa's father stated.

Elisa started to probe his mind. Seems fear weakened their emotional defense mechanism. She could see he was frightened and that he was telling the truth.

With that soldiers went to retrieve the teams. The teams at the gate stood and waited. Guns drawn and just staring at each other. Elisa stayed close to Jack. Just knowing she was minutes from being home, she couldn't stand still.

"Hey.. . you'll be home soon" he said. Trying to calm her nerves. She looked up at him and smiled. Till her feet hit Atlantis, she wasn't going to get her hopes up. But she just held on to Jack's Jacket, tightly.

From a distance you could see the soldiers approaching. It was the team. As the approached Elisa's father, yelled "you have your people, now hand over our prisoners."

"Ahh ahh ahh not so fast. Our people will walk through the gate first. As soon as everyone is through, your people will be handed over. I want to make sure you don't fuss with the gate and get us all stranded here" Jack said, thinking ahead.

Elisa's father just stared at Jack. He thought of his daughter. The explosion though he dare not admit it frightened him. So he backed down.

"Fine…leave my world, immediately" he said.

"Move out" is all Jack said, the teams began to move out, as the prisoners, stood being guarded by the last team.

"Go ahead Kaylia, I'll be right behind you" Jack said.

"No…." she said, "we leave together". She couldn't bare to think that Jack could get stranded, knowing what waited for him back at Atlantis.

He smiled at her. For someone so young, she was so full of knowledge and insight.

The last person walked through the gate, Jack walked towards the prisoners and directe them to the soldiers.

"You have your people I have mine. Before Jack and Kaylia walked through the gate, little Elisa came running through the bushes.

"Kaylia…don't leave" she said.

Kaylia ran to her. Although she didn't want to be there and was dying to get home, she felt for the little girl.

"Elisa I must leave. These are my family. They came to bring me home. I don't belong here." Kaylia said. She had a necklace wrapped around her neck, that a small child had made for when she was back on her planet. She took it off and wrapped it around Elisa's neck.

"here." She said, " so you'll always remember me"

Elisa had tears running down her face. She ran to father, who lifted her to his arms. Kaylia looked at him and gave him a brief smile. He didn't react, but she can sense his smile from within. With that Jack and Kaylia walked through the gate.

And there they were. Home! Finally Home! They crew stood at the front of the gate, and gave them all a standing ovation. Standing right in front was Sam.

Kaylia just broke down. She was hysterical. Sam ran to her. "Hey..you're home, you're home" she said. Sam looked at Jack. He knew she wasn't happy that he went without telling her what was going, but she also knew he did it for her and the babies well being. Kaylia hung on to Sam for dear life. Sam sat at the steps, and just held her, till she stopped sobbing.

The other teams members made there way to the infirmary as protocol.

"Sam…are you ok? Kaylia was finally able to get out through all the wimpering and crying.

"OH Kaylia, I'm ok…shhh I'm fine….we both are" Sam said giving Kaylia a smile. Somehow she knew Kaylia already knew about the pregnancy. Jack came from behind them, and hugged them both.

"How bout we get you to the infirmary, and then I hear there's cake?" Jack said, trying to make the mood lighter.

"Do I have fine…they didn't hurt me. I'm just hungry and tired" Kaylia said.

"I hear ya kid, I hate the infirmary too but we just want to make sure, k" Kaylia agreed. One of the nurse were standing by and accompanied Kaylia to the infirmary.

"Sam…" Kaylia said, "I'll be right there Kaylia, I promise..I just need to talk to Jack for a moment, ok" Sam said.

"O.k. Don't be too hard on him Sam. He was doing the right thing" Kaylia said with a smile.

She could sense Sam was irate with him. She knew what he did was right but she just wished he would have ran it by her first.

KAylia left with the nurse. Before Jack could get a word out, Jack quickly spoke.

"Sam please….it all happened so fast. I knew you cuoldn't walk through that gate not in the state you were in, and a decision needed to be made…so I did and…"

Before he finished, Samantha Carter leaned in and gave him the biggest kiss she had given him. Crew members had all retreated to the mess hall for cake so it was just Jack and her.

They finally come up for air and Jack was stunned.

"O.k. not the reaction I was expecting. NICE! Seems someone got some good rest… but…" Jack was still shocked.

"I may not of agreed the way you handled it but, you got our team home Jack, and Kaylia. I love retired General Jack O'Neill. " she said.

He just gave her that grin that melted her. They stood for a moment staring into each others eyes. Then out of nowhere she punches him in the arm.

"Awwuu…" Jack said. "That's for not telling me your plan." He just looked at her, rubbed his arm and grabbed her to him. "I love you Colonel Samantha Carter" he said. And she giggled into his arm.

"hey no giggling" he said, as his hands slipped down her side, to her waist, and then he placed his hands on her belly. Sam was started to show slightly. He could tell on how her pants where fitting just a little tighter.

"And…" he tried to ask but couldn't find the words.

"We're fine Jack, we're fine" she said. HE pulled her to him. God, how he loved this woman. He held her so close that his manhood reacted.

"Ah ah ah….. that will need to wait till later" she said.

"I have a team to debrief"

"You promise?" he asked. She let go and started walking towards the infirmary.

"Ya sure ya betcha" she said, and turned and gave him that smile, that made his heart jump out of his chest. Right now Jack O'Neill was the happiest man alive. He made his way to the promenade, and started to take off all his gear. He looked out in the horizon, and took the deepest breath he could. Fate tried to toss another wrench into the love Sam and Jack had for each other, but love prevailed.


End file.
